No one talked about the “Iranian threat” — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s signature trademark — during the campaigns leading up to the municipal elections held throughout Israel on Oct. 30. In the hallways of Elimelech Rimalt grade school, where a polling station was set up for residents of the coastal town of Netanya, there was no talk of the government’s ineptitude in dealing with the “incendiary kite terrorism” plaguing residents of Gaza’s border communities and setting fire to their fields. Instead, the discourse focused on plans to build new hotels along the beachfront, insufficient spending on education and too much investment in municipal fountains.

Naturally, the agenda of local elections is different from the one expected to engage Israelis during the soon-to-come Knesset elections in 2019. Nonetheless, local voting results provide some insight into the prevailing mood in Israeli society these days.

One takeaway has to do with a crisis of trust in law enforcement authorities. More than a dozen local leaders, suspected and even charged with criminal offenses, won voters’ trust. In fact, only four of the 13 candidates under a cloud were denied re-election.

For example, Rishon Lezion Mayor Dov Zur, suspected of bribery, garnered enough votes to compete in a second round (as none of the candidates reached the required 40%). Ashkelon Mayor Itamar Shimoni, indicted on charges of bribery, also did quite well in the polling booth, all considering. He lost to his rival by a mere 400 votes. Head of the Tamar Regional Council Dov Litvinoff, who has admitted and been charged with breach of trust, was elected to a second term. The most impressive achievement in this regard is that of Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg-Ikar, whom police have recommended indicting for accepting bribes. The recommendation has been awaiting a decision by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit since March 2017. Meanwhile, she was endorsed by Netanyahu and re-elected this week to a fifth term.