Shabtai Levy
Encyclopedia
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
. He held office from 1941 to 1951.
Shabtai Levy was born in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1876. Trained as a lawyer, he made Aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
in 1894http://shabtailevihome.ca/whowasshabtailevi.html. He studied in the PJCA
Palestine Jewish Colonization Association
The Palestine Jewish Colonization Association, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym PICA , was established in 1924 and played a major role in supporting the Yishuv in Palestine until its disbandment in 1957....
school in Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva known as Em HaMoshavot , is a city in the Center District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv.According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2009, the city's population stood at 209,600. The population density is approximately...
. He was then employed as a clerk for the Baron Edmond James de Rothschild
Edmond James de Rothschild
Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Zionism, his generous donations lent significant support to the movement during its early years, which helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel.- Early years :A...
. In 1905 he moved to Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and managed the law and land departments of the PJCA
Palestine Jewish Colonization Association
The Palestine Jewish Colonization Association, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym PICA , was established in 1924 and played a major role in supporting the Yishuv in Palestine until its disbandment in 1957....
and JCA
Jewish Colonization Association
The Jewish Colonization Association was created on September 11, 1891 by the Baron Maurice de Hirsch. Its aim was to facilitate the mass emigration of Jews from Russia and other Eastern European countries, by settling them in agricultural colonies on lands purchased by the committee, particularly...
.
When the British established a Haifa city council in 1920, Levy was appointed along with Raphael Hakim. In 1924, Levy was elected along with David HaCohen
David Hacohen
David Hacohen was an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset between 1949 and 1953, and again from 1955 until 1969.-Biography:...
as an independent. Starting in 1934, he served as vice-mayor of Haifa. In 1941, when Hassan Bey Shukari died, Levy became the acting mayor of Haifa, and the city's first Jewish mayor. During the Israeli War of Independence, he tried to use his influence on the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
community leaders to try to keep the Arab population from leaving the city.
In the 1940s the Shabtai Levy Home was established in Haifa, providing a wide range of services to undepriviledged children of all faiths. When it was originally founded, The Shabtai Levy Day Care Center served the families of soldiers in the Volunteer Jewish Brigade
Jewish Brigade
The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group was a military formation of the British Army that served in Europe during the Second World War. The brigade was formed in late 1944, and its personnel fought the Germans in Italy...
during World War II. Over the intervening years, services have expanded to include a recuperation center for sick babies which later became a residential home for babies and toddlers, an Emergency Center specializing in the emergency care of babies and very young children, and a Satellite Foster Families Program. There was also the addition of a mother-baby residential facility to rehabilitate mother-child pairs, to enhance mothering skills and bonding. The "Shalom Hayeled" Ambulatory Unit provides out-patient treatment for at-risk and abused children from the entire Northern District of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.