When Haifa was the main gateway to Israel

By: Daniel Vaknin

The main entry route to Israel

In such a centralized country, everything goes through the center, but before the establishment of the state, in many respects the center was Haifa. With the establishment of the Valley Railway and the British port, Haifa became a main transportation artery and served as a major entry route to Israel. In those days, many are the respected and important personalities who chose to enter Israel through Haifa.

historical moments

Today, when you want to leave the country, you get on the highway and drive towards the center, as do those entering Israel, landing directly at Ben Gurion Airport. In the days before the establishment of the state and also shortly after its establishment, Haifa and its port were the main and busiest entry gate in Israel, through which everyone entered and provided historical moments for the city.

Baron Rothschild

Baron Rothschild did start his support for Jews and their settlement in Israel from his place of residence in France, but in 1887 he already came here for his first visit in order to get an impression of his work and then entered through the port of Jaffa in a secret way. The Baron made his second visit to Israel in 1893, when, during a private cruise in the Mediterranean Sea, he decided to deviate from the original plan and arrive in Israel in an unplanned way, so he docked at the port of Haifa, or rather at a pier that existed in Haifa. It was another historic visit by Rothschild as part of his support and activities to promote settlement, a visit that even marked the beginning of a period in which important personalities began to visit Israel whose visits here were part of the change that took place in these years in the Land of Israel and in Haifa in an accelerated manner.

The visit of Emperor Valihem II

The trend was continued by a particularly magnificent entry into Israel: as part of the great changes that took place in the world at that time and the race between the imperial powers, Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, made a historic and unforgettable visit to the Land of Israel. As befits the strict Germans, everything was planned and organized down to the last detail. Haifa overtook Jaffa in the battle for primacy when the emperor chose to anchor in the port of Haifa. It can be assumed that the Templar community, which had already prospered in the Haifa area and their proximity to the coast, had the upper hand in choosing the emperor's mooring place.

the pier

In preparation for its mooring, a new pier designed by the district architect and member of the German colony Gottlieb Schumacher was built. Parts of the pier, by the way, can still be seen outside the Haifa City Museum, yes - in the German colony.

The person who came to Israel to meet the emperor and tell him about the need to establish a Jewish home in the Land of Israel was none other than Benjamin Ze'ev Herzl. Although Herzl entered the Land of Israel through Jaffa, he definitely recognized the potential of Haifa.

Discover a new world

4 years after his visit to the Land of Israel, Herzl published his novel "Altneuland". In the novel, two imaginary travelers arrive in Israel and anchor in Jaffa. After visiting several places they are disappointed, and continue their journey. On their next visit to Israel, they anchor in Haifa and discover a new world. The city that has a port, and is the central and important economic center of the settlement. Herzl identified the entrance to the country and its center as Haifa, but in the book he also identifies Haifa as a mixed, liberal and patient city that accepts every person. 

Although Herzl himself arrived in Israel through the port of Jaffa, he apparently realized the potential in Haifa before anyone else, and indeed, at the end of the 20s, the British began to plan a huge port for the docking of large ships, and from 1933 Haifa became a large and important economic center, especially for the British who control parts of widespread in the world. The city serves as one of the most important transportation and goods transfer arteries.

Faisal-Weizmann Agreement

In the very last months of the construction work at the port, in September 33, Faisal, one of the most important leaders of the Arab world, who was King of Iraq and for a short time also King of Syria, died in Europe, and was responsible for many of the transformations in the Arab world after the First World War.

In 1918, as part of his attempt to establish his position, Faisal signed with Haim Weizmann Faisal-Weizmann Agreement, in which he actually recognized the Balfour Declaration, and established the Arab world's recognition of the rights of the Jews in the Land of Israel. Later on in the revolving door of the Middle East he became the king of Syria, but soon after was expelled and arrived in Haifa where he settled in Beit Hecht.

A life cut short

As part of a compromise agreement, Faisal became the king of Iraq and in 1933, during a tour of Europe, he died, apparently of a heart attack. On the way of his coffin's journey to Iraq, the coffin passed through Haifa and to this day in the lower city of Haifa there is a monument to his name in the square named after him. The shape of the monument is like a broken column, symbolizing his life that was cut short and the honorable transition in Haifa. 

The legendary Ethiopian emperor

In 1936 the Italians were determined to conquer Ethiopia and erase the shame of some painful losses on African soil. The legendary emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassa has managed to get out of Ethiopia in recent days. On his way to Europe, the emperor arrives in the Land of Israel for two weeks, when he both entered and left the country and passed through the port of Haifa. It was a difficult time for the Ethiopian emperor, but the visit and passage to Haifa was a dramatic and massive event that did not escape the attention of the media of those days.

End of the British Mandate

The day of the establishment of the state was also a historic day for Haifa and its port, on that day Alan Cunningham, the last British High Commissioner in the Land of Israel, boarded a British Navy ship and left the country, in an event that symbolized the end of the British mandate.

Sadat

It can be said that after the establishment of the state, Haifa was no longer the main gateway to Israel, and if there is an event that may symbolize this change, we can recall Sadat's visit to Israel. Sadat made his first and main visit through his entry to Israel in 1977, on his next visit here in 1979, he anchored in the port of Haifa and even visited the central mosque, not far from Faisal's monument.

Thanks to Legal Graver, member of the Haifa History Association, for his assistance in preparing the article.