The Jerusalem Emergency Committee (Vaadat Hamosadot Le-Inyanai Youshalayim) was a seven man group set up in December 1947 by the Jewish Agency to take over the civil administration of Jewish Jerusalem as the British mandate over Palestine

Palestine

Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....

 came to an end. Originally Golda Meyerson was to have been a member. It was partly in reaction to the creation of a similar group by Vaad Hakehilla, the city's Jewish Community Council.

The committee consisted of David Aboulafia, Daniel Auster

Daniel Auster

right|thumb|Daniel AusterDaniel Auster was Mayor of Jerusalem in the final years of the British Mandate of Palestine, the first Jewish mayor of the city, and the first mayor of Jerusalem after Israeli independence.-Biography:...

, Charles Passman, Hayim Salomon, Reuven Shreibman, Yitzhak Werfel, and was headed by Dov Joseph

Dov Yosef

Dov Yosef was an Israeli politician and statesman. Yosef served in a variety of ministerial positions during the first two Knessets and was the country's second Minister of Justice, serving twice .-Background:...

. Its main responsibility was the supply and distribution of food and fuel to the Jewish population of Jerusalem. In March local Palestinian militias succeeded in closing the road to the city for all Jewish traffic except heavily armoured convoys. The committee introduced unpopular rationing and price controls on bread and meat. With the departure of the British Army the committee established a police force consisting of 400 former members of the Palestine Police. It also took charge of the postal service, schools and radio station. At the end of May the committee re-housed 1,500 refugees from the Old City in empty houses in Katamon.

The committee's headquarters were located in the Sansur Building on Zion Square

Zion Square

Zion Square is a public square at the east end of the Ben Yehuda Street Pedestrian Mall in downtown Jerusalem. It abuts Jaffa Road, Herbert Samuel Street and Yoel Moshe Salomon Street as well....

.

A week before the beginning of the first truce in June 1948 a telegraph link with Tel Aviv was made and on June 17 the postal service with the rest of Israel was resumed. During the truce civilians could only leave the city if they had a permit from the committee.