The ‘Community Committee’ and Establishment of a Multiethnic Hebrew Community in Haifa during World War I
Keywords:
World War I, Jewish community in Haifa, Haifa, ‘New Yishuv’, Jewish–Arab relations in PalestineAbstract
On the eve of World War I the Jewish community in Haifa underwent demographic and organisational changes. These included the establishment of a joint community committee (va’ad ha’eda) which operated until 1913 and marked the beginning of the united Jewish community in Haifa. The article discusses the formation of the Jewish nationalist community in Haifa during the war and the way it preserved the community’s framework by providing essential services. The public leadership – which came mainly from the ‘New Yishuv’ – tried to establish a selfsufficient, productive management system in dealing with vital resources, such as food, medicine, and medical treatment. I contend that the public service structure established by the national leadership during the war laid the foundations for community organisation and postwar recovery. Furthermore, it reflects the beginning of the modern-nationalist view and the domination of ‘New Yishuv’ leadership in Haifa, and was a forerunner of the Hebrew community’s separation from the Arab surroundings.
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