Isaac Kariv

Isaac Kariv was born in 1902 in Russian Empire

Isaac Kariv was born in Pabianice, then on the Russian border with Poland, to Rabbi Zvi David Krakowski and Ruth Krakowski. He immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1924 and settled in Jerusalem in 1926. He married Shoshana Brapp, who was also active in Hapoel HaMizrachi.

In 1928 he became secretary of the management of Mizrahi Bank in Jerusalem. After the death of Yehoshua Heschel Farbstein in 1948, he was appointed the bank's manager.

After Zalman Shragai resigned as mayor, the city council debated for months over a successor. On 25 September 1952 Kariv was elected mayor for the Mizrachi faction as a compromise candidate, backed by the right-wing and religious parties. In April 1955, after the city failed to pass a budget, the Minister of Interior replaced him with an appointed committee.

In the June 1955 elections he headed a joint list of Mizrachi and Hapoel HaMizrachi, which won 3 seats. The list then backed Mapai and Gershon Agron as mayor, and Kariv resigned from the council. From March 1956 he advised the Minister of Welfare on public institutions supported by the ministry. He died in Jerusalem in 1999, and a street near the Tower of David was later named for him.