Shlomo Zalman Shragai

Shlomo Zalman Shragai (Hebrew: זלמן שרגאי, 1899–1995) was an Israeli politician and Jerusalem's first elected mayor.

Shlomo Zalman Shragai
Mayor of Jerusalem
In office
1951–1952
Preceded byDaniel Auster
Succeeded byYitzhak Kariv
Personal details
Born(1898-12-31)31 December 1898
Gorzkowice, Russian Empire
Died1 September 1995(1995-09-01) (aged 96)
Jerusalem, Israel
Political partyHapoel HaMizrachi

Biography

Shlomo Zalman Shragai was born into a Polish Orthodox Jewish family in Gorzkowice in 1899. He then became active in the religious Zionist movement and settled in Palestine in 1924,[1] already playing an important political role before Israel's founding in 1948.

Political career

In 1950, Shragai was elected mayor of West Jerusalem, a position he held for two years.[2] 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. He served as honorary world president of Hapoel HaMizrachi movement.[1]Shragai was particularly active in encouraging religious Jews to move Israel and was among the prime movers behind the establishment of Kiryat Sanz in Netanya, Kiryat Mattersdorf and Kiryat Itri in Jerusalem, and Kiryat Sassov near Ramat Gan.[3]

References
  1. "OBITUARY : Shlomo Shragai". The Independent. September 7, 1995.
  2. "Shlomo Zalman Shragai, 96, a former mayor of Jerusalem and..." Baltimore Sun. 4 September 1995. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  3. When Mizrachi Leaders Built Charedi Neighborhoods in Israel
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