Abba Hushi

Abba Hushi was born in 1898 in Turka

Abba Hushi was born Abba Schneller in 1898 in Turka, Galicia, then part of Austria-Hungary. His mother Liba grew fruits and vegetables on a small farm. He studied at a heder and then at the local gymnasium, and planned to study medicine until World War I broke out in 1914 and the family fled to Bohemia.

After the family returned to Turka in 1918, he was active in the Hashomer Hatzair movement and called for immigration to the land of Israel. In 1920 he read his poem about Tel Hai at a movement conference in Lviv.

In July 1920 he moved to Mandatory Palestine with a group of 130 pioneers and took the Hebrew surname Hushi. He paved roads, unloaded coal at Haifa port and drained swamps near Nahalal. He took part in founding the Histadrut and in 1922 was among the founders of kibbutz Beit Alfa.

In 1927 he settled in Haifa and joined Ahdut HaAvoda, which later merged with Mapai. He was secretary of the Haifa Workers Council from 1931 to 1951 and was elected to the first Knesset for Mapai in 1949.

From 1951 until his death in 1969 he was mayor of Haifa. In this role he helped found the University of Haifa, the Haifa Theatre, the Carmelit and museums of art.