Zalman Shragai
Encyclopedia
Shlomo Zalman Shragai was an Israel
i politician and Jerusalem's first elected mayor.
Shragai was born into an Polish
Orthodox Jewish family in Gorzkowice
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, he was elected mayor of Jerusalem, a position he held for two years. He then became the head of immigration of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. 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.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i politician and Jerusalem's first elected mayor.
Shragai was born into an Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Orthodox Jewish family in Gorzkowice
Gorzkowice
Gorzkowice is a village in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Gorzkowice. It lies approximately south of Piotrków Trybunalski and south of the regional capital Łódź....
in 1899. He then became active in the religious Zionist movement and settled in 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....
in 1924, already playing an important political role before Israel's founding
Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel
The Israeli Declaration of Independence , made on 14 May 1948 , the day before the British Mandate was due to expire, was the announcement by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization and chairman of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, that the new Jewish state named the...
in 1948. In 1950, he was elected mayor of Jerusalem, a position he held for two years. He then became the head of immigration of the Jewish Agency for Palestine. 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.
External links
- "Shlomo Zalman Schragai, Former Jerusalem Mayor, 96" in New York Times, September 4, 1995. Retrieved October 15, 2006.