During the First World War the entire bay area was placed under a sea blockade and mined by the Turks, who were afraid that the allied forces might land on its beaches. As was the case in the other cities in Israel, Haifa was also hit by the First World War, especially as a result of the cessation of all economic and commercial activities prevailing at that time in Israel.

On the other hand, and in contrast to several other cities and settlements in Israel, there was no actual great physical destruction which took place in Haifa. The battle which was fought to gain control of the city ceased after a couple of days, without causing any severe destruction or killing. On the 23^rd September, 1918, the British took over the control of the city and ushered in a genuine new ‘Eden’ for the residents of Haifa and area. In fact, many regard the period of the British in Haifa as its true Golden Age.

For it is certainly true that the city of Haifa has gone through remarkable changes which have significantly altered it in various ways. And this time it was the turn of the British, with the Jews at their side, to undertake substantive and energetic development projects in and on behalf of the city.

The most important contribution made by the British Mandate to Haifa was, without a doubt, their building of the port, which gave the populations of Haifa an economic boost to their city. Even the rumour that the port construction project was going ahead brought about a flurry of people who flocked to the city, in order to seek out land and extensive building propositions. Well before the port was built, there were plans to construct buildings which would act as oil refineries for the oil that would arrive from Iraq. In addition, the central work shops of the ‘Land of Israel Train Company’ were also built at this time. 

The digging and construction work surrounding the building of the port, as well as the draining of the coastal area adjacent to the port, provided enough work for thousands of labourers. And this significantly altered the contours of the city’s beach. At the rear end of the port, these labourers created a ‘dry’ area, which covered the tiny jetties which had been built in the 19^th century. And, on top of these, they built instead a large commercial zone, as well as buildings which served as spaces for storage, refrigeration, transport and haulage. In addition to all these innovations, the British also installed in the city important ministerial offices, command head quarters and large army camps, and these in turn increased the number of job opportunities available to the population of Haifa. Members of the Jewish community who lived in the city were very quick to take advantage of the opportunities offered during this era to those who were willing to take the initiative and make considerable investments. They started off by building a commercial zone in the vicinity of the port, as well as the Khamra Square, which has now been renamed and is known as the Paris Square of today. This zone, which was erroneously called ‘the Turkish souk’, offered the Jewish community of Haifa many commercial advantages, once the port was opened.

After the dedication ceremony for the port, the Jewish community procured some land and built a new commercial zone within the vicinity of the area known as Banks St. And this is the method through which a large proportion of the commercial areas and businesses situated at the rear end of the port came to be concentrated practically entirely in the hands of the Jewish community. Among the tens of thousands of Jewish people who emigrated to Israel during the 20s and 30s, many chose to lay down roots in Haifa, which at that time, as we have seen, offered potential residents a vast variety of job and building opportunities. Many of those members of the community who were wealthy, or business men, found themselves located in prime position to build new residential areas, whilst, at the same time, the labourers who found work in Haifa created a very special status for themselves in the city. So, by their input, both business men and workers vastly improved the standing of the Jewish sector of Haifa.

Those decades also saw members of the Arab communities, both Muslim and Christian, emigrate to Haifa. These Muslims and Christians found employment both in the large enterprises that had been established in the city, as well as in her work shops.

As a result of the population census which was taken in 1931, the population of Haifa was now found to be about fifty thousand people (31% of whom were Jewish). By 1944, on the other hand, one hundred and twenty eight thousand people had emigrated to the city, of whom 52% were Jewish.

It goes without saying that there was also clear spatial dimension to this vast increase in population growth. The people who were, for the main part, the initiators of the building programme in Haifa were Jewish. They gradually bought up the entire mid terrace area of the Carmel slope, on which they constructed sizeable residential neighbourhoods. The majority of these neighbourhoods (which stretched from the Technion in an eastern direction to the Wadi Rushmiah) amalgamated to form one holistic municipality – Hadar on Carmel. Hadar was, to all extents and purposes, Jewish Haifa. Very few members of the Jewish community took up residence in the Down Town part of the city or in the commercial zone. At the beginning of the 20s, the Jewish population turned their attention to the distant far off open areas, to Neve Sha’anan, Bat Galim and Ahuza. And these neighbourhoods became, so to speak, islands of Jewish neighbourhoods situated at a recognizable distance from Hadar on Carmel.

In the 30s, the Kriyot ha – Mifratz (suburbs round the bay area) were established and formed a very close bond with Haifa and her industrial areas.

Haifa’s reputation as a city of mixed ethnic and religious populations at the time of the British mandate could be seen in the day to day life of the city. In its large enterprises and at the port area, Jews and Arabs would work together. What is more, even in the commercial areas, economic interests overcame any national or ethnic interests. The municipality employed members of every conceivable community, and the most outstanding mayors of Haifa, Hasan Bei Shukri (Haifa’s last Muslim mayor: 1914 – 1920 and 1927 – 1940) and Shabtai Levy (Haifa’s first Jewish mayor: 1940 – 1951), were elected by all the inhabitants of the city. Because of these factors, Haifa was not party to the struggle between Jews and Arabs which took place in the rest of the country.

As mentioned above, Hadar on Carmel was in actual fact an autonomous entity. Working hand in hand with the municipality, a neighbourhood commitee took care of the physical infrastructure and communal and educational life of the neighbourhood. The Jewish population of Haifa conducted the main struggle against the British in the context of aliyah and the clandestine immigration attempts during the Second World War and up to 1948. In order to be effective in their struggle, they used to organize either massive demonstrations, or actual concrete actions, such as the liberation of the clandestine immigrants from Atlit – when the residents of Haifa intermingled with these immigrants in such a way that the British authorities were confused as to who was who. When the system broke down in 1947, these close knit ties began to loosen, and deeds of enmity and animosity on both sides turned into a very real war which was fought within the confines of the city of Haifa itself. These also led to very real struggles against the governing administration, which was played out in the streets and at the cross roads. On eve of Pesach, 5708 (according to the Jewish calendar), that is 21 – 22 April 1948, the forces of the ‘Haganah’ seized control of the city of Haifa. This event constituted an historic turning point in the annals of the city. Tens of thousands of its Arab residents abandoned their city, whilst only three thousand five hundred people, the majority of whom were Christian, remained in it.