Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times, By ISABEL KERSHNER

NAZARETH, Israel — Ramiz Jaraisi has been the mayor of this bustling Arab city in northern Israel for nearly 20 years. For 20 years before that, he served as deputy mayor. The local party slate he heads, the Nazareth Democratic Front, a coalition of the Communist Party and other groups, has been running the city since 1975.

Mr. Jaraisi, 61, greets visitors to City Hall in a conference room lined with glass cases displaying glass from the Roman and Byzantine era, Umayyad period coins and Mameluke ceramic bowls. On the wall outside are framed photographs of previous mayors of Nazareth going back to 1875, all male, many of them with mustaches and wearing Turkish-style fez hats.

There is a lot to be said for tradition and continuity in a city revered by Christians as the childhood home of Jesus. Though the city’s population of 80,000 is now about 70 percent Muslim, much of the economy of Nazareth, considered the capital of Israel’s Arab minority, depends on the tourism generated by its Christian past.

“This is one of the most well-known cities in the world, the place where Christianity started,” said Mr. Jaraisi, a Christian, whose hair and mustache have turned white on the job.

But others in Nazareth say it is time for change. Mr. Jaraisi has been elected mayor four times, with the votes of both Muslims and Christians, he is quick to point out. Now, in the municipal elections scheduled for Israel’s local authorities on Tuesday, he is facing a serious challenge.

Ali Salam, Mr. Jaraisi’s former deputy, is one of four candidates running against him. Another strong contender is Haneen Zoabi, 44, a Muslim woman and a firebrand member of the Israeli Parliament representing Balad, an Arab national party.

Known as one of Israel’s feistiest Arab politicians, Ms. Zoabi gained widespread notoriety in Israel for being on board the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish ship that was raided by Israel as it tried to breach the naval blockade of Gaza in 2010. Nine activists were killed as Israeli commandos met with violent resistance as they landed on the deck. Israeli right-wingers have since tried to get Ms. Zoabi thrown out of Parliament.

But, Ms. Zoabi said, the flotilla episode has helped her by showing her constituents that she acts on her beliefs and not according to political calculations.

“I would do the same with the municipality, and this gives people confidence,” she said in a recent meeting with reporters at her party headquarters here, where the wall decorations include a photocopy of the masked image that represents Anonymous, the shadowy international computer hacking network.

“I represent another generation, a younger generation,” she added. “I think it is a phenomenon in the Arab world.”

via Mayoral Race Threatens to Shake Up Tradition Where Jesus Grew Up – NYTimes.com.