Abd al-Rauf al-Bitar
Palestinian politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Abd al-Rauf al-Bitar | |
|---|---|
عبد الرؤوف البيطار | |
| Mayor of Jaffa | |
| In office January 1939 – 17 June 1941 | |
| Preceded by | Assam Bek As-Said |
| Succeeded by | Omar al-Bitar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Died | 17 June 1941 |
Biography
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 his brother, Omar al-Bitar.[6]
A street in Tel Aviv-Yafo is named after Bitar.[7]
Further reading
- 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.