By Ilan Shchori

Abstract 

On May 2, 1934, the city of Tel Aviv celebrated a jubilee marking its twenty-fifth anniversary. In his opening speech, given at the Levant Fair Theater, located at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds in northern Tel Aviv, Meir Dizengoff said, just two years before he passed away: “I have given 25 years of my life to building this city, and am now delighted to see it thriving, well on its way to unconstrained development… You who will labor to expand our city after me, preserve its spirit and cultural character. It is not the houses, streets or gardens that make up a city, but the qualities of its residents: our language, love of work and creativity, equality, freedom, faith in our own abilities, and desire to live a life of dignity in which we stand on our own two feet. Protect our national ideals, for the existence of our city depends on them. Long live Jewish genius, long live the City of Tel Aviv”. With these clear and poignant words, Meir Dizengoff had outlined his outlook on his life work – the city of Tel Aviv.

The present study focused on Meir Dizengoff’s impact on Tel Aviv’s development and status between 1921 – the year that the British Mandate recognized it as a city council – and 1936 – the year that Dizengoff passed away while serving as its mayor. The city’s development was explored throughout the study from various perspectives – historically, chronologically, socio-culturally, politically, and economically.

Through it, and particularly wherever the municipality’s involvement was prominent, Dizengoff’s character as the key, leading figure at that time, was also examined. This study therefore moves along two axes – chronological and thematic – that, at times, intersected but, at other times, remained separate. Whether jointly or severally, both of these aspects provide an opportunity to thoroughly and fully examine Dizengoff’s range of activity, as well as his contribution to Tel Aviv’s development.

The present study is divided into ten chapters. Chapter One centers on Meir Dizengoff’s character and persona until he became mayor in 1921, as well as on Tel Aviv’s historical background, from the establishment of Ahuzat Bayit to the period leading up to its declaration as a city council following the First World War. The initial steps taken by Dizengoff to form the municipality in Tel Aviv’s early defining years, having received its legal status, are the focus of Chapter Two, with emphasis placed on the creation of municipal apparatuses and symbols, alongside the neighborhood unification. Chapter Three recounts the establishment of Tel Aviv’s first security and emergency institutions, such as the police force, fire department, and emergency medical services (Magen David Adom), highlighting Dizengoff’s involvement in these processes. Tel Aviv’s electrification, and Pinhas Rutenberg’s founding of the first power station in the city, are presented in Chapter Four, along with their effects on Tel Aviv’s modernization, municipal economy, industrial factories, and its initial steps as a city of commerce.

Chapter Five is about early city planning in Tel Aviv, where approximately 30,000 residents were living at that time, and the impact of Meir Dizengoff’s policy to plan the city for 100,000 residents, while expanding it all the way to the Yarkon River, executed by famous city planner Sir Patrick Geddes. This chapter also describes how the Mayor of Tel Aviv had led the development of the city’s public parks, beaches, and coastline. Chapter Six explores the development of Tel Aviv’s public transportation since its inception, and Dizengoff’s policy of positioning the city as the center of Jewish Yishuv. Chapter Seven underscores Meir Dizengoff’s conduct in times of crisis, both economic – primarily the 1920s financial crisis, during which he had to provide solutions for residents who were struggling; and political – mostly vis-à-vis the local labor unions, which culminated in his resignation as mayor in late 1925 for a period of three years. This chapter brings an account of his actions during this time as a member of the Zionist Executive and Head of its Department of Urban Colonization, as well as a member of the Jaffa City Council. It also describes the main events that took place in the Municipality of Tel Aviv while Dizengoff was not heading it.

Chapter Eight focuses on Dizengoff’s return as mayor in early January 1929, and the efforts he had made to turn the city into a hub of Hebrew cultural and national life, after having stabilized the municipality financially. It reveals how Hayim Nahman Bialik had helped Dizengoff found and cement culture establishments in Tel Aviv, such as Habima theater and the philharmonic orchestra, as well as introducing the latter’s early vision of a university.

Chapter Nine also centers on Dizengoff’s second term as mayor, placing an emphasis on how he turned the city into a metropolis, helped, in part, by the fifth Aliyah or immigration wave. This chapter presents the various means employed by Dizengoff to establish a series of national enterprises in Tel Aviv to bolster its centrality, such as Purim celebrations, the Maccabiah games and Levant Fair, as well as the founding of the seaport. This last achievement was a dream come true for Dizengoff, who was intent on building a seaport since the early 1920s, and had finally done so shortly before he passed away.

The final chapter, Chapter Ten, recounts the actions taken by Dizengoff in his final years to commemorate and formulate his heritage even while living, inter alia by means of a historical account that was not always true to life. This chapter also describes his greatest lifetime achievement – the art museum he had set up in his own home – as well as his personal birthday and other celebrations that had become municipal holidays for all intents and purposes.

Methodologically, the present study is based on numerous records and documentations that have been subsequently analyzed, for the most part primary sources on Meir Dizengoff as Mayor of Tel Aviv or the city itself in those days. Sources were methodically collected from state archives, particularly the Central Zionist Archives; municipal archives, particularly the Tel Aviv City Archive; press and memoir collections; as well as private collections, material kept by officials, primarily in the Tel Aviv Municipality, kindly provided by their heirs. Said sources were critically analyzed and compared. The study was primarily based on minutes of Tel Aviv Municipality discussions and resolutions, from the first Tel Aviv City Council to the sixth, as well as minutes of board and executive committee meetings. To complement the information collected on events and actions, extended use was made of media coverage from that time, as well as journals and memoirs, biographies and autobiographies of key figures living and active in the years studied, who had some connection to the city of Tel Aviv. Articles and textbooks on the studied theme and time were also used.

The study indicates that, to a great extent, Tel Aviv had turned from a small Jaffa neighborhood into a central bustling metropolis due to Dizengoff’s actions, for his personality and conduct had impacted the city’s character and development. It details and proves how Dizengoff had contributed to shaping city life, impacting it in various areas by having a clear, long-term vision for the city’s development, as well as taking many actions and decisions as mayor to realize this vision. The 15 years that he had spent at Tel Aviv’s helm (with a short hiatus that lasted less than 3 years) had certainly granted him status surpassing that of a mayor, positioning his city as influential beyond its geographic boundaries.

The study further reveals that Dizengoff had dedicated all his energy and capabilities to managing the city of Tel Aviv, achieving autonomous conduct with no external intervention. He was able to negotiate between his role as mayor of an independent Hebrew city and his position within the Mandatory British regime, thus contributing to Tel Aviv’s development, growth, and prosperity. His ability to overcome crises and solve problems creatively in tough situations, while utilizing political and economic opportunities to develop the city, had also played a role in his impact on the city’s evolvement. One of his greatest feats during his tenure as Mayor of Tel Aviv, as reflected in the present study, was turning the city into a central hub of life, culture and nationalism by all means available to him. As a follow-up to Amiram Gonen’s studies that have highlighted the various reasons why Tel Aviv became a prominent and significant city, the present study underscores the contribution made by Dizengoff’s leadership to these processes.

Dizengoff’s character, as reflected by his actions recounted in this study, unquestionably prove his diligence and dedication to the cause. His engagement, perseverance, and reading of the situation, even when times were tough, had always led to immediate outcomes on route to Tel Aviv’s development, advancement, and accomplishment. In his term in office as Mayor of Tel Aviv, Dizengoff had emerged as a leader, possessing several traits that helped his city develop and grow; however, one of the present study’s new discoveries is that he also had other attributes, some of which were less positive, and are further elaborated upon in this study.