Rafi Saar | |
Office: | Mayor of Kfar Saba |
Term Start: | 4 December 2018 |
Party: | Derech Hadasha |
Country: | Israel |
Predecessor: | Yehuda Ben Hamo |
Birth Date: | 25 September 1967 |
Birth Place: | Kfar Saba, Israel |
Residence: | Kfar Saba, Israel |
Rafi Saar (he|רפי סער; born 25 September 1967) is the current mayor of Kfar Saba.[1]
Rafi Saar was born in and grew up in Kfar Saba.[2] From 1982-1985, he attended the "Katznelson" high school in the city.
In the army, Saar served in the Engineering Corps and later studied at Bar-Ilan University from which he received bachelor degrees in political science and sociology and a Master's degree in business management.[3]
Saar served as aide to former Kfar Saba mayor Itzhak Vald and later became General Manager of Kfar Saba Municipality.
In 2008, he ran for head of regional council for Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal but lost. He served as council member on the opposition.
From 2009-2014, Saar served as General Manager of the municipality of Hod HaSharon.
On October 30, 2018 he ran for mayor of Kfar Saba in the first round against Yossi Sedbon, Zvika Zarfati, Ilai Harsgor Hendin, Hadar Lavi, Yuval Levi and Mirit Shaked Barak and advanced to the second round.[4] On the 13th of November 2018, Saar won the election with 53.2% of the vote against Yossi Sedbon's 46.8%.
In the 2024 elections, he ran for another term and received 46.89% of the votes,[5] with a gap of 757 votes from Hadar Lavi, and was elected to continue serving as head of the Kfar Saba municipality for five more years.[6] For the city council, his list received 3 seats.