Israel Rokach, Honorary CBE (; December 31, 1896 – September 13, 1959) was an Israeli politician,

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

member, and the fourth

Mayor of Tel Aviv The Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo is the head of the executive branch of the political system in Tel Aviv-Yafo. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, most public agencies, and enforces city and state laws. The term of office ...

from 1936 to 1953.

Biography

Israel Rokach was born in 1896 in

Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek (, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a Jewish neighborhood in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Judaism, Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of Jaffa. It was founded by a group of 48 J ...

, then part of

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

. His mother was Rachel Rokach (born in 1863). His father, Shimon Rokach (born in 1863), a journalist, was one of the founders of the neighborhood. His grandfather, Yisrael Bak, revived the Hebrew printing industry in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Rokach attended a

cheder A ''cheder'' (, lit. 'room'; Yiddish pronunciation: ''khéyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th century. L ...

and then an

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance israélite universelle (AIU; ; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jewish self-defense and self-suffi ...

school. He traveled to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he continued his education at a high school in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and then studied

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

at the

Zürich polytechnic ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

. In 1920, Israel Rokach moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he worked as an electrical engineer. In 1922, he returned to Jaffa, where he opened a store for electrical supplies. In 1933, Rokach married Esther Epstein. Rokach died in 1959 and was buried in Trumpeldor Cemetery in Tel Aviv.

Political career

Rokach's first public position was council member in Jaffa, representing the Jewish neighborhoods of Neve Tzedek,

Neve Shalom Neve Shalom (), also known as Wahat as-Salam () is a cooperative village in Israel, jointly founded by Israeli Jews and Arabs in an attempt to show that the two peoples can live side by side peacefully, as well as to conduct educational work f ...

and Ohel Moshe. In 1922, he was elected to the city council of Tel Aviv, representing the United Centrist List party. In 1929 he was appointed deputy mayor to

Meir Dizengoff Meir Dizengoff (; born Meer Yankelevich Dizengof, ); 25 February 1861 – 23 September 1936) was a Zionism, Zionist leader and politician and the founder and first Mayor of Tel Aviv, mayor of Tel Aviv (1911–1922 as head of town planning, 1922� ...

. Following Dizengoff's death in 1936, the city council held an emergency election for the office of

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. Rokach represented the right-wing parties, but lost to

Moshe Chelouche Moshe "Musa" Chelouche (, ''Moshe Shlush'', April 7, 1892 – February 26, 1968) was a Jewish politician and businessman in Mandatory Palestine and Israel who served in 1936 for 10 days as the Mayor of Tel Aviv, mayor of Tel Aviv. Biography Chelou ...

of the workers' parties. Nevertheless, the British High Commissioner forced Rokach's appointment to the mayoral post. Despite public uproar about British intervention in the Jewish democratic process, Rokach went on to serve as mayor of Tel Aviv until 1953. For his great success, he was appointed an honorary Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. During his tenure, Tel Aviv expanded rapidly and its population tripled. Jaffa, Rokach's birthplace, was merged into the city in 1949, giving it a significant population boost, despite Rokach's initial opposition to the merger. The 1936–39 Arab revolt,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

1948 Arab-Israeli War Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

all occurred during his tenure, including

Operation Hametz Operation Hametz (, ''Mivtza Hametz''; 25–30 April 1948) was an operation to conquer towns around Jaffa conducted by Zionist forces as part of Plan Dalet shortly before the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine, in the civil war ...

– the capture of Jaffa from Arab hands. During this period, Tel Aviv was bombed from the air multiple times, the first being by the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

in 1940. After this, underground shelters and loudspeaker systems were built, which also served the population in 1949, when Egyptian Spitfires made strafing runs on the city. In August of 1947, Rokach and other municipal leaders were imprisoned in

Latrun Latrun (, ''Latrun''; , ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the si ...

for aiding Jewish underground organizations. He was released in September 1947. In 1952, Israel Rokach delivered a farewell speech and ceased his municipal duties in Tel Aviv. However, he officially continued as mayor until

Chaim Levanon Chaim Levanon (; 1899–1986) was a Polish-born Israeli politician and mayor of Tel Aviv between 13 April 1953 and 1959. Personal life Levanon was born in Kraków, Poland, in 1899 as Chaim Yosef Levinstein. After graduating from a yeshiva, he st ...

was elected to replace him on April 13, 1953. Rokach served as head of the

Maccabi World Union Maccabi World Union is an international Jewish sports organisation spanning five continents (Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Europe) and more than 50 countries, with some 400,000 members. The Maccabi World Union organises the Macc ...

. He was a member of the

from its first inception until the

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

as a member of the

General Zionists The General Zionists () were a centrist Zionist movement and a political party in Israel. The General Zionists supported the leadership of Chaim Weizmann and their views were largely colored by central European culture. The party was considered ...

. In the first and second Knessets, he was also a member of the Finance Committee. In the third Knesset, he also held the position of deputy

speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

. In the fourth and fifth governments, between 1952 and 1955, Israel Rokach served as the

Interior Minister of Israel The Ministry of Interior (, ''Misrad HaPnim''; ) in the State of Israel is one of the government offices that is responsible for local government, citizenship and residency, identity cards, and student and entry visas. The current Minister i ...

. In 2008, Israel honored him on a postage stamp.

Awards and recognition

Honorary OBE (1938)

Honorary CBE (1945)
The , an Israeli architecture award, is named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rokach, Israel 1896 births 1959 deaths Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery Deputy mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo Deputy speakers of the Knesset General Zionists leaders Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire Jews from Mandatory Palestine Jews from Ottoman Palestine Mayors of Tel Aviv-Yafo Ministers of internal affairs of Israel People from Jaffa Members of the 1st Knesset (1949–1951) Members of the 2nd Knesset (1951–1955) Members of the 3rd Knesset (1955–1959)