Gur'el's strongest opponent was Yael Rom, a pioneering female pilot in the Israeli Air Force.
While she was a member of Likud, Rom ran for mayor in affiliation with an independent party list that was running in the coinciding city council elections.
[4] The 1989 Haifa mayoral election was held on 28 February 1989,[5] and saw the reelection Aryeh Gur'el to a third consecutive term.
In the primary election for the Israeli Labor Party nomination, third-term incumbent mayor Aryeh Gur'el was defeated by challenger Amram Mitzna.
[7] Since Haifa was considered a stronghold of the Labor Party, Mitzna entered the general election as its front-runner.
The election marked the first time that the Israeli Labor Party lost control of Haifa's mayoralty, as it and its predecessors had run the city since the 1940s.
[10] Labor was without a candidate, after their nominee, Aliza Shenhar, having poor support, dropped-out of the race three days before the election and endorsed Yahav.