"City of Work and Prosperity": The Levant Fair

Tel Aviv derived its economic dynamism from its proximity to the agricultural hinterland of Jaffa (famous for its oranges) and from the ties that Jewish immigrants maintained with their (primarily) European countries of origin. This one-time suburb quickly grew into a formidable commercial rival to Jaffa. Constant frictions between Arabs and Jews in the two cities led to the opening of the Tel Aviv port in 1936 at the initiative of its mayor, Meir Dizengoff. While Tel Aviv was not a center of heavy industry, a sizable number of textile and clothing manufacturers maintained their premises there – the best known of which was the Lodzia textile firm (named after the city of Lodz, the "Polish Manchester"). Electrical power was needed to keep Tel Aviv’s economy humming, and this was provided by the Palestine Electric Company, Ltd., directed by Pinhas Rutenberg (1879-1942). Starting in 1924, commercial fairs were regularly held in Tel Aviv to showcase the industrial and commercial activity of the Jewish Yishuv in Palestine. The first one to be called a “Levant Fair” (Yerid ha-mizrah) took place in 1932, and two more Levant Fairs were held in 1934 and 1936, when their activities were curtailed by the Palestinian revolt (1936-1939).

Official logo of the Levant Fair, Tel Aviv, 1934.

Laying the cornerstone for the expansion of the Lodzia textile factory, spring 1929.

From an album containing examples of vinegar labels, 1920s or 1930s. Grapes, oranges, and olives were the main cash crops raised in the vineyards and orchards of the Jaffa-Tel Aviv region.