Developing Jaffa’s port, 1920‒1936

Jaffa port was long renowned as the main harbour of Palestine. From the onset of the British Mandate intense activity in turning it into a modern port resulted in the appointment of a series of committees composed of Arab and Jewish representatives from Jaffa and Tel Aviv. From the start, it was clearly in Tel Aviv’s interest to work for the development of Jaffa port, although the city did not concede its own desire to establish a port of its own; thus the developments taking place at Jaffa port carried implications for Tel Aviv in determining its moves. This article sheds light for the first time on the joint conduct of Jaffa and Tel Aviv regarding the development of the port at Jaffa, and examines its implications. It shows that both cities operated in a considered way before the authorities, and benefited the Jaffa port project, but at the same time Tel Aviv’s ambition for a port of its own was fostered.