Shlomo Zalman Shragai ( he, זלמן שרגאי, 1899–1995) was an Israeli politician and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

's first elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

. Shragai was born into a Polish Orthodox Jewish family in

Gorzkowice Gorzkowice is a village in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Gorzkowice. It lies approximately south of Piotrków Trybunalski and south of the regiona ...

in 1899. He then became active in the religious Zionist movement and settled in Palestine in 1924, already playing an important political role before Israel's founding in 1948. In 1950, Shragai was elected mayor of West Jerusalem, a position he held for two years. He then became the head of immigration of the

Jewish Agency for Palestine The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...

. This was a time of extensive immigration to Israel from Muslim countries, so he often went on clandestine trips to these countries to obtain the release of the Jews living there. He served as honorary world president of

Hapoel HaMizrachi Hapoel HaMizrachi ( he, הַפּוֹעֵל הַמִּזְרָחִי, lit. '' Mizrachi Workers'') was a political party and settlement movement in Israel. It was one of the predecessors of the National Religious Party and the Jewish Home. Histo ...

movement.Obituary: Shlomo Shragai
/ref>

References

External links

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in ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 4, 1995. Retrieved October 15, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shragai, Zalman Members of the Assembly of Representatives (Mandatory Palestine) Mayors of Jerusalem Israeli Orthodox Jews Polish Orthodox Jews Polish emigrants to Mandatory Palestine People from Piotrków County People from Piotrków Governorate Jews from the Russian Empire 1899 births 1995 deaths Heads of the Jewish Agency for Israel