Alhadif, Zaki

Zaki Alhadif was born in 1890 in Tiberias to an influential Sephardic Jewish family. His ancestors built their ancestry to the Jews of Spain, who after exile settled on Rhodes , and from there they moved to the Land of Israel in 1740 ^[1] . His father, Chaim Alhadif, headed the yeshiva , and his paternal grandfather, Aaron, was the city’s chief rabbi . Zaki received a traditional Jewish education, first in the cheder and then in the yeshiva headed by his father. In addition, he also studied at the comprehensive school of the World Jewish Union and from private teachers ^[2] .

Since 1911, Zaki Alhadif led trading affairs, having spent four years in Beit Shean . While in this city, young Alhadif gained such a good reputation for his merit, intelligence and honesty, that he headed the Jewish community of Beit Shean. During these years, he married Esther, the daughter of Haham Yehudah Cohen ^[2] .

When, during World War II, the Ottoman authorities of Palestine deported Jews from Judea and the coastal areas of the country, Alhadif, who returned to Tiberias, supervised the provision of assistance to the deportees ^[2] . In 1920, Hosni efendi Zahawi, a representative of a local influential Arab family, was elected governor of Tiberias. Zaki Alhadif became one of four Jewish members of the city council and became deputy mayor ^[3] . When Zahaui, caught in a fraud ^[2] , was dismissed in 1923 and the question of a new mayor arose, the leaders of the Tiberias Arab community supported Alhadif’s candidacy ^[4] , who took over at the age of 33 ^[3] .

As mayor of Tiberias, Alhadif took care of the development and modernization of the Jewish quarters of the city, at the same time not forgetting the interests of the Arab community. During his leadership years, Tiberias became an attractive destination for tourists; the first streets were asphalted, water supply and electricity were conducted (the first pumping station pumping water from Lake Tiberias , was launched in 1927 ^[5] ), new quarters were built (including the prestigious Kiryat Shmuel), large new hotels, became popular The resort of Hamey-Tiberias, the development of which was undertaken by a Jewish company ^[6] , began the construction of a promenade on the shores of Lake Tiberias. A significant part of the improvement works of the city was carried out within two years after the great flood in 1934; As part of this work, the city streets were expanded, which made it possible to improve the flow of water to the lake during the rainy season. Alhadif also acquired lands near Tiberias for the Jewish National Fund with his own money, and in 1930 a Kibbutz of Tiberias was founded on these lands (most of whose members later moved to Kibbutz Kfar Giladi ) ^[5] . Alhadif actively collaborated with the Histadrut in order to implement the project of Jewish employment in Palestine, assisting in the involvement of Jewish builders in the renewal of Tiberias ^[4] .

From the British authorities, impressed with his success as mayor, Alhadif received an honorary degree in Business Administration . The Jewish mayor also developed a good relationship with the aged mufti of Tiberias. In 1929, during the days of Arab unrest in Palestine , Alhadif and the leaders of the Arab community of Tiberias signed a joint appeal to the city’s Arab and Jewish inhabitants to keep order ^[7] (Zaki himself went to the Haifa unrest these days and escaped only by chance, an unfamiliar youth ^[4] ). Tranquility and good neighborly relations between the two ethnic communities were maintained until the beginning of the unrest of 1936-1939, ^[8] but this unrest did not bypass Tiberias: in early October 1938, almost 20 urban Jews were killed in the pogrom .

The deterioration of the situation forced the Hagany activists to develop a safe route for Alhadif from the hotel where he lived to the city hall, but he refused to use it ^[8] . He also refused the bodyguards offered to him ^[7] . A few weeks later, the son of the owner of an Arabian restaurant, close to the City Hall, fired a shot at Alhadif. The mortally wounded mayor died two days later, on October 27, 1938, at the age of 48. His killer was later captured by the British authorities and sentenced to death ^[9] .

After the creation of Israel, a monument was erected at the site of the assassination of Zaki Alhadif. By the 70th anniversary of the murder a new monument was created, the authors of which were the artist Uri Mazar and the sculptor Yuval Lupin. The monument, made of black basalt, depicts a broken tree trunk, symbolizing the prematurely cut short life of Alhadif ^[9] .

• Chaya Mandelcorn. Tiberian legend (Hebrew) = אגדה טבריינית // Sgul. - 2012. - Num. 24 - P. 56-61 .
• David Tidhar. Zaki Alhadif // Encyclopedia of pioneers and builders of Yishuv = אנציקלופדיה לחלוצי הישוב ובוניו. - 1950. - V. 4. - p. 1860–1861.