The development gap between the cities of Jaffa and Tel Aviv and its effect on the weakening of Jaffa in the time of the Mandate

Abstract

At the time of the British Mandate in Palestine the development of Tel Aviv, which the Jaffa Arabs regarded as the realization of the Zionist enterprise, was perceived as a real threat to Jaffa’s future. The two cities’ geographic proximity threw into bold relief the differences between the two levels of development. As the years passed the two cities’ development demonstrated Tel Aviv’s supremacy over Jaffa. From the years of the Arab revolt (1936-1939) the gap between the development of Tel Aviv and of Jaffa inexorably widened. By time the Mandate ended Jaffa’s condition had so deteriorated that the need to narrow the gap had become urgent. Jaffa had to be transformed into a modern city, but also – indeed principally – to be restored to its former strength and status in the context of the worsening Arab-Jewish conflict. The will to achieve this aim intensified as long as Tel Aviv continued to flourish. The article evaluates how far the chasm between the two cities in their development influenced Jaffa’s condition in the declining years of the Mandate. It shows that it damaged Jaffa, being a significant factor reducing its status as an urban center.