Hassan Bey Shukri (; 1876–1940) was the mayor of

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

and the president of the

Muslim National Associations The Muslim National Associations (MNA)Among them was ''al-Jam'iyya al-Islamiyya al-Wataniyya'' ( ar, الجمعية الاسلامية الوطنية), founded in 1921, and was active until 1923. was a Zionist-inspired and funded organization founde ...

Biography

Hassan Shukri was born in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and moved to Haifa as a child. The Turks appointed him mayor of the city in 1914. In July 1921, Shukri sent a telegram to the British government, declaring support for the

Balfour Declaration The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...

and Zionist immigration to

British Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

We strongly protest against the attitude of the said delegation concerning the Zionist question. We do not consider the Jewish people as an enemy whose wish is to crush us. On the contrary. We consider the Jews as a brotherly people sharing our joys and troubles and helping us in the construction of our common country. We are certain that without Jewish immigration and financial assistance there will be no future development of our country as may be judged from the fact that the towns inhabited in part by Jews such as Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, and Tiberias are making steady progress while Nablus, Acre, and Nazareth where no Jews reside are steadily declining. Cohen, Hillel '' Army of Shadows: Palestinian collaboration with Zionism, 1917-1948''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. p. 15-17

In 1927, Shukri added Hebrew to municipal documents, which were formerly in Arabic. In 1933, he opened up city tenders to Jewish contractors. In 1936, explosives were planted at his home. He escaped without injury, but several months later an Arab fired four shots at Shukri as he entered Haifa City Hall. While the assassination attempt failed, Shukri was shaken and fled to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. When Shukri died on January 29, 1940, many of Haifa’s Jewish leaders attended his funeral.Paraszczuk, Joanna "Melting pot on the mountain". ''Jerusalem Post'', 12/03/2010

References

{{Authority control Mayors of Haifa Arab people in Mandatory Palestine