Israel Rokach

MKs


Date of birth = 31 December 1886
Place of birth = Jaffa, Ottoman Empire
Year of Aliyah =
Date of death = Death date and age|1959|09|13|1886|12|31|df=yes
Place of death = Israel
Knesset(s) = 1st, 2nd, 3rd
Party = General Zionists
Former parties =
Gov't roles = Minister of Internal affairs|

Israel Rokach, OBE ( _he. ישראל רוקח or Yiśrā’el Rōkaḥ, born 31 December 1886, died 13 September 1959) was an Israeli politician, Knesset member, and the mayor of Tel Aviv between November 15, 1936 and April 13, 1953.

Personal life

Rokach was born in 1886 in Neve Tzedek, then part of Jaffa. His father, Shimon, was one of the founders of this Jewish neighborhood. He studied at a Cheder and then at an Alliance Israélite Universelle school. He travelled to Switzerland to finish his education and studied in a high school in Lausanne, and then electrical engineering in the Zürich polytechnic.

In 1920 he moved to the United Kingdom, where he worked as an electrical engineer. In 1922 he returned to Jaffa, where he built a store for electrical supplies.

In 1933, Rokach married Esther Epstein. He called their daughter Iri ( _he. עירי), meaning "my city".

After his death in 1959, Israel Rokach and later his wife Esther, were buried in the Trumpeldor Cemetery in Tel Aviv.

Political career

Tel Aviv

Rokach's first public position was as a council member of the unified neighborhoods - a council representing Jaffa's Jewish population - the Neve Tzedek, Neve Shalom and Ohel Moshe neighborhoods. In 1922, he became a member in the city council of Tel Aviv, representing the United Centrist List party. In 1929 he was appointed as deputy mayor to Meir Dizengoff.

In the 1936 municipal elections, Rokach represented the right-wing parties, although he lost to Moshe Shalosh 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 awarded the title of Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

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 and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War all occurred during his tenure, including Operation Hametz - 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 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. On August 5, 1947, Rokach, along with other municipal leaders, was imprisoned in Latrun, for aiding Jewish underground organizations. He was released in September of the same year.

In 1952, Rokach conducted a goodbye speech and devoted his time to the Knesset, ceased his activities in Tel Aviv and not attending municipal council meetings or interfering in city management in any way. However, he officially continued holding the post of mayor until April 13, 1953, when Chaim Levanon was elected to replace him.

Other activity

Rokach served as head of the Maccabi World Union. He was a member of the Knesset from its first inception until the third as a member of the General Zionists. 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.

In the fourth and fifth governments, between 1952 and 1955, Rokach served as the Interior Minister of Israel. In 2008, Israel Post honored him on a postage stamp

External links