Abd al-Rauf al-Bitar
Abd al-Rauf al-Bitar | |
|---|---|
عبد الرؤوف البيطا | |
| Mayor of Jaffa | |
| In office January 1939 – 17 June 1941 | |
| Preceded by | Assam Bek As-Said |
| Succeeded by | Omar al-Bitar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jaffa |
| Died | 17 June 1941 Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine |
Abd al-Rauf al-Bitar (died 17 June 1941) was a Palestinian politician who served as the mayor of Jaffa from 1939 until his death in 1941.
Biography
[edit]Bitar was born in Jaffa. He received his secondary education in the city, and later studied in Beirut. He then became a merchant, a military contractor and a tax collector. al-Bitar was married and had at the time of his death three sons and two daughters.[1]
Bitar was first appointed Deputy Mayor of Jaffa by British Authorities in 1918, months after their occupation of the city from the Ottoman Empire.[1] Bitar was elected to Jaffa's city council in 1927 and 1934.[2][3]
In 1936, Bitar was elected head of the Jaffa Chamber of commerce. He also served as a member of the local Citrus control board.[1]
On 5 January 1939, Mandatory authorities dissolved Jaffa's City Council, replacing it with a three-person committee headed by al-Bitar as Mayor.[4]
Bitar survived an assassination attempt on 2 June 1939.[5]
Bitar died in Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center on 17 June 1941 after a three-month illness.[1] He was replaced as mayor by hs brother, Omar al-Bitar.[6]
A street in Tel Aviv-Yafo is named after Bitar.[7]
Further reading
[edit]- Giller, Shmuel (2021), "זיכרונות על יפו של פעם" [Memories of the old Jaffa], Ben-Yehuda project
- Giller, Shmuel (2019), "יפו הבלתי ידועה" [The unknown Jaffa], Ariel publications, via the Ben-Yehuda project
- Goren, Tamir (2017), "מפנה ביחסי ערבים ויהודים ביפו ובתל אביב בשנות מלחמת העולם השנייה" [A turning point in Arab-Jewish relationships in Jaffa and Tel Aviv during the Second World War], Inquiries into the revival of Israel, Ben-Gurion University.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Mayor of Jaffa Dead". The Palestine Post. 18 June 1941. p. 1. Retrieved 12 July 2025 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ "תוצאות הבחירות בעיריית יפו" [Results of election to Jaffa Municipality]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 31 May 1927. p. 1. Retrieved 12 July 2025 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ "תוצאות הבחירות לעיריית יפו" [Results of election to Jaffa Municipality]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 28 June 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 12 July 2025 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ "נתמנתה ועדה עירונית ביפו" [A Municipal Committee has been appointed in Jaffa]. HaTzofe (in Hebrew). 5 January 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 12 July 2025 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ "הטרור המחודש בארץ" [Renewed terror in the country]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 4 June 1939. p. 1. Retrieved 12 July 2025 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ "עומר אל-ביטאר - ראש עיריית יפו" [Omar al-Bitar - Mayor of Jaffa]. HaTzofe. 22 June 1941. p. 1. Retrieved 12 July 2025 – via National Library of Israel.
- ^ Padan, Yehiam (2005). "תל אביב יפו: מדריך הרחובות" [Tel Aviv-Yafo: the street guide] (PDF). tel-aviv.gov.il. p. 35. Retrieved 11 July 2025.