Mayoral candidate Dr. Yitzchak Stern's campaign calls Tzfat a sick person that needs a doctor to make the city a tourist and knowledge center. Dr. Stern, born in Jerusalem and a veteran physician in the city, has maintained throughout his campaign that he is not obligated to any party.

"I do not need this position as means for personal gain, financial or otherwise. I have no political aspirations and am not beholden to anyone," he declares.

Dr. Stern, who is an observant Jew and is married to a British woman who grew up in the Bnei Akiva national religious movement, has vowed to clean up the city of trash and to cut red tape for citizens.

He wants to see Tzfat "a city of Torah, tradition and Kabbalah, and a university town like Cambridge," he said. "The Rambam is a prime example of how these two aspects can exist side by side." 

Tzfat, known to English speaking tourists as Safed, is located in the Upper Galilee. It flourished in the 16th century as a center of Jewish mystics, many of whom fled the Spanish Inquisition. It is one of Israel's four holy cities, the others being Jerusalem, Hevron and Tiberias.

Dr. Stern, a widely known physician in the city, added, "I know that first I need to make a diagnosis and conduct a complete checkup, and after I find the source of the sickness, I can begin to heal, and the healing process will take time."