View source for Teddy Kollek

{{short description|Israeli politician (1911–2007)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = 
| name                = Teddy Kollek
| honorific_suffix    = 
| native_name         = {{Nobold|{{Script/Hebrew|טדי קולק}}}}
| image               = Teddy Kolek toasting. Jerusalem 1966 (D803-058) (cropped).jpg
| image_size          = 
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Kollek in 1966
| office              = [[Mayor of Jerusalem]]
| term_start          = 29 November 1965
| term_end            = 2 November 1993
| birth_name          = Kollek Tivadar
| birth_date          = 27 May 1911
| birth_place         = [[Nagyvázsony]], [[Kingdom of Hungary]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|2007|1|2|1911|5|27|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Jerusalem]], [[Israel]]
| death_cause         = 
| resting_place       = 
| nationality         = [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]]<br />[[Israel]]
| citizenship         = [[Israelis|Israel]]
| education           = 
| alma_mater          = 
| occupation          = 
| predecessor         = [[Mordechai Ish-Shalom]]
| successor           = [[Ehud Olmert]]
| party               = [[Israeli Labor Party|Labour]]
| spouse              = Tamar Schwartz (1917–2013)<ref>[https://www.timesofisrael.com/tamar-kollek-widow-of-famed-mayor-dies-at-96/#:~:text=She%20met%20her%20husband%20and,organizations%20that%20aided%20disabled%20Israelis. 26 July 2013 Obituary The Times of Israel]</ref>
| partner             = 
| children            = 2
| parents             = 
| relatives           = 
| awards              = [[Peace Prize of the German Book Trade]] (1985)
[[Israel Prize]] (1988)
[[List of honorary citizens of Vienna|Honorary Citizen of Vienna]] (2001)
| signature           = 
| website             = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} -->
| footnotes           = 
}}

'''Theodor "Teddy" Kollek''' ({{langx|he|טדי קולק}}{{ltr}}; 27 May 1911 – 2 January 2007) was an Israeli politician who served as the [[mayor of Jerusalem]] from 1965 to 1993.

== Early life and marriage ==
Theodor Kollek ({{né|Kollek Tivadar}}) was born in [[Nagyvázsony|Nagy-Vázsony]], 120{{spaces}}km (75 miles) from [[Budapest]], Hungary. His parents, Alfred and Margaret ({{née|Fleischer}}), named him after [[Theodor Herzl]]. The family moved to Vienna in 1918.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1538399/Teddy-Kollek.html Obituary: Teddy Kollek, in The Telegraph, London, 3 January 2007]</ref><ref name="ÖstBibl">{{cite book |editor1= Susanne Blumesberger |editor2=Michael Doppelhofer |editor3=Gabriele Mauthe |title= Handbuch österreichischer Autorinnen und Autoren jüdischer Herkunft: 18. bis 20. Jahrhundert |publisher= Walter de Gruyter for Österreichische Nationalbibliothek (Austrian National Library), Vienna |page= 720 |year= 2011 |isbn= 978-3110949001 |language= de |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QnrPXZ_eT44C&pg=PA720 |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref> Growing up in the [[Austria]]n capital city, Kollek came to share his father Alfréd's [[Zionism|Zionist]] convictions.

[[File:EinGevPioneers.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Kollek (second from the right) with the Ein Gev Pioneers (1934–39)]]
In 1935, three years before the [[Nazism|Nazis]] [[Anschluss|seized power]] in Austria, the Kollek family immigrated to British-controlled [[Mandatory Palestine]]. In 1937, he was one of the founders of [[Kibbutz]] [[Ein Gev]], on the shore of [[Lake Kinneret]].<ref name="washpostobit">{{cite news | last = Wilson | first = Scott | title = Longtime Mayor of Jerusalem Dies at 95 | pages = 2 | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | date = 2 January 2007 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010200139.html | access-date = 2 January 2007}}</ref> That same year he married Tamar Schwarz (1917–2013).{{efn|Daughter of Rabbi Arthur Zacharias Schwarz (1880–1939), son of Rabbi Adolf Schwarz (1846–1931), rector of the Israelite Theological School.}} They had two children, a son, the [[film director]] [[Amos Kollek]] (born in 1947), and a daughter, Osnat.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150323011705/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-5985306.html Kollek: A man with 'Viennese optimism']</ref>

== Intelligence services ==
=== The "Hunting Season" ===
In 1942 Kollek was appointed the Jewish Agency's deputy head of intelligence. Between January 1945 and May 1946 he was the Agency's chief external liaison officer in Jerusalem and was in contact with MI5's main representative as well as members of British Military Intelligence.<ref name="realm">Andrew, Christopher (2009) ''The Defence of the Realm. The Authorized History of MI5.'' Allen Lane. {{ISBN|978-0-7139-9885-6}}. Pages 355,356.</ref> In the 1940s, on behalf of the Jewish Agency (Sochnut) and as part of the [[The Saison|"Hunting Season"]] or "Saison", Teddy Kollek was the Jewish Agency's contact person with the British Mandate MI5, providing information against right-wing Jewish underground groups [[Irgun]] and [[Lehi (militant group)|Lehi]] (known as "Stern Gang"). He succeeded [[Reuven Shiloah|Reuven Zaslani]] and preceded [[Zeev Sherf]] in this function, and was carrying out the Jewish Agency's policy of assisting the British in fighting these groups.<ref name="Wagner">{{cite thesis |url=https://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/handle/1880/48196/2010_Wagner.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Britain and the Jewish Underground, 1944–46: Intelligence, Policy and Resistance |first=Wagner |last=Steven |date=2008 |publisher=University of Calgary |type=MA |access-date=4 January 2011 |doi=10.11575/PRISM/12667 }}</ref> On 10 August 1945, he revealed to MI5 the location of a secret Irgun training camp near [[Binyamina-Giv'at Ada|Binyamina]]. Twenty-seven Irgun members were arrested in the raid that followed.<ref name="realm"/>

=== Second World War ===
During World War II, Kollek tried to represent Jewish interests in Europe on behalf of the Jewish Agency.<ref name="Sinatra">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-dAKzGzfeOgC |title= Sinatra: The Life |first1= Anthony |last1= Summers |first2= Robbyn |last2= Swan |author-link1= Anthony Summers |year=2007 |publisher= Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn= 9780307427762 |page= 116}}</ref>

=== Cooperation with the USA ===
In 1947–48, he represented the Haganah in Washington, where he assisted in acquiring ammunition for Israel's then-fledgling army.<ref name="Sinatra"/>

Kollek was a key figure in creating an alliance between the [[Mossad]] and the [[CIA]] during the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name="Melman">{{cite news |first= Yossi |last= Melman |title= Kollek Played Key Role in Forging the CIA-Mossad Alliance |newspaper= Haaretz |date=2 January 2007 |url= https://www.haaretz.com/1.4945662 |access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref> In 1950, he accidentally encountered [[Kim Philby]], whom he had known from his Vienna days, at the offices of the CIA, and warned [[James Jesus Angleton|James Angleton]] that Philby was a Soviet agent in the 30s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Morley |first=Jefferson |url=https://www.google.co.il/books/edition/The_Ghost/EwCXDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA50&printsec=frontcover |title=The Ghost: The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton |date=2017-10-24 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-250-13910-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=David C. |url=https://www.google.co.il/books/edition/Wilderness_of_Mirrors/PmaCDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT76&printsec=frontcover |title=Wilderness of Mirrors: Intrigue, Deception, and the Secrets that Destroyed Two of the Cold War's Most Important Agents |date=2018-09-15 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-5107-2219-4 |language=en}}</ref>

== In national politics ==
Kollek became a close ally of [[David Ben-Gurion]], serving in the latter's governments from 1952 as the director general of the prime minister's office.<ref name="haartezobit">{{cite news |title= Legendary Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek to be laid to rest in Jerusalem |publisher=[[Haaretz]] |date= 3 January 2007 |url= https://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/809043.html |access-date= 3 January 2007}}</ref>

== Mayor of Jerusalem ==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Teddy Kollek VIII.jpg|frame|right|Teddy Kollek]] -->
In 1965, Kollek succeeded [[Mordechai Ish-Shalom]] as Mayor of Jerusalem. On his motivations for seeking the mayor's office in Jerusalem, Kollek once recalled: I got into this by accident [...] I was bored. When the city was united, I saw this as an historic occasion. To take care of it and show better care than anyone else ever has is a full life purpose. I think Jerusalem is the one essential element in Jewish history. A body can live without an arm or a leg, not without the heart. This is the heart and soul of it.<ref name="nytimesobit">{{cite news | last = Erlanger | first = Steven |author2=Marilyn Berger | title = Teddy Kollek, Ex-Mayor of Jerusalem, Dies at 95 | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 2 January 2007 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/world/middleeast/02cnd-kollek.html | access-date = 3 January 2007}}</ref>

During his tenure, Jerusalem developed into a modern city,<ref name="washpostobit"/> leading him to be described as "the greatest builder of Jerusalem since [[Herod the Great|Herod]]."<ref name="Zvielli">{{cite news |last=Zvielli |first=Alexander |date=2 January 2007 |title=Teddy Kollek and his life-long dedication |url=https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467644367&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |access-date=3 January 2007 |publisher=[[The Jerusalem Post]]}}{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, [[1978 Jerusalem mayoral election|1978]], [[1983 Jerusalem mayoral election|1983]], and [[1989 Jerusalem mayoral election|1989]], serving 28 years as mayor of Jerusalem.<ref>{{cite news | last = Rabinovich | first = Abraham | title = How Teddy put Jerusalem back together again | publisher = [[The Jerusalem Post]] | date = 2 January 2007 | url = https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467648519&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull | archive-url = https://archive.today/20120529175244/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467648519&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull | url-status = dead | archive-date = 29 May 2012 | access-date = 3 January 2007 }}</ref> In a reluctant seventh bid for mayor [[1993 Jerusalem mayoral election|in 1993]], Kollek, aged 82, lost to [[Likud]] candidate and future prime minister of Israel [[Ehud Olmert]].

=== Relationship with the Arab community ===
During his tenure as mayor, [[East Jerusalem]], which had been under [[Jordan]]ian control since 1948, was captured by Israel in the [[Six-Day War]] of 1967. Kollek's approach toward the Arab inhabitants of Jerusalem was governed by pragmatism. Following the [[reunification of Jerusalem]], he arranged for the provision of milk for Arab children. Some Israelis considered him pro-Arab.<ref name="nytimesobit"/> Kollek advocated religious tolerance and made numerous efforts to reach out to the Arab community during his tenure. Muslims continued to have access to [[Temple Mount|Masjid Al-Aqsa]] (i.e. the [[Temple Mount]]) for worship. While he was adamant that Jerusalem could not be divided again and remain under Israeli sovereignty, he believed in concessions to reach a final settlement.<ref>[https://www.jpost.com/Features/Article.aspx?id=46748 Teddy Kollek and his life-long dedication]</ref>

Kollek's views on the annexation of East Jerusalem softened after leaving office.<ref>{{cite news | title = Teddy Kollek, longtime mayor of Jerusalem, dies at 95 | publisher = [[International Herald Tribune]] | date = 2 January 2007 | url= http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/02/africa/ME_GEN_Israel_Obit_Kollek.php | access-date = 5 January 2007}}</ref>

=== Civic and cultural projects ===
Kollek dedicated himself to many cultural projects during his lengthy term in office,<ref name="Museum"/> and founded and led the [[Jerusalem Foundation]],<ref name="nytimesobit"/> through which he helped finance the projects. Kollek was also instrumental in the establishment of the [[Jerusalem Theater]].<ref name="nytimesobit"/>

==== The Israel Museum ====
Kollek's most notable cultural project was the development and expansion of the [[Israel Museum]]. From 1965 to 1996, he was president of the museum, and officially designated its founder in 2000. When the museum celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1990, Kollek was named {{Transliteration|he|Avi HaMuze'on}} ("father of the museum").<ref name="Museum">The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Magazine, Winter-Spring 2007, p.3</ref>

Through a leadership which spanned decades, Kollek raised millions of dollars from private donors for civic development projects and cultural programs. Kollek once remarked that Israel needed a strong army, but it also needed expressions of culture and civilization.<ref name="nytimesobit"/>

==== Jerusalem zoo ====
Kollek was considered the "number-one friend"<ref name="friend">{{Cite web |last=Hochstein |first=Joseph |last2=Mathias |first2=Peter |last3=Evans |first3=Michael |last4=Doron |first4=Shai |date=2007-02-04 |title=The multi-faceted mayor |url=https://www.jpost.com/features/the-multi-faceted-mayor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924012159/https://www.jpost.com/features/the-multi-faceted-mayor |archive-date=2021-09-24 |access-date=2025-08-09 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en}}</ref> of the [[Jerusalem Biblical Zoo]], which occupied a {{convert|15|acre|m2|adj=on}} site<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Articles/Attractions/The+Tisch+Family+Biblical+Zoo.htm |title=The Tisch Family Biblical Zoo |publisher=Israel Ministry of Tourism |access-date=31 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117182422/http://goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Articles/Attractions/The+Tisch+Family+Biblical+Zoo.htm |archive-date=17 November 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in [[Romema]] from 1950 to 1991. Though the [[zoo]] attracted many visitors to its exhibits of animals, reptiles and birds mentioned in the [[Bible]] and was successful in [[Captive breeding|breeding]] and protecting [[endangered species]],<ref>{{cite web |url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9B03EFD71639F935A35750C0A965948260 |title=Jerusalem's Modern Ark |last=Kammen |first=Michael |date=6 March 1983 |access-date=10 October 2010 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> it was considered small and inferior to zoos in [[Tel Aviv Zoo|Tel Aviv]] and Haifa.<ref name="sbl">{{cite web |url=http://www.sbl-site.org/publications/article.aspx?articleId=579 |title=The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo |last=Greenbaum |first=Avraham |date=August 2006 |access-date=10 October 2010 |publisher=[[Society of Biblical Literature]] |archive-date=24 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124202635/http://www.sbl-site.org/publications/article.aspx?articleId=579 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kollek promoted the idea of moving the zoo to a larger location and upgrading it to a state-of-the-art institution. Around 1990, under the auspices of the Jerusalem Foundation, the Tisch family of New York agreed to underwrite the expensive undertaking. The zoo re-opened as The Tisch Family Zoological Garden in Jerusalem on a {{convert|62|acre|m2|adj=on}} expanse near the neighborhood of [[Malha]] in 1993.<ref name="sbl" /> Kollek helped the zoo raise money to build the [[elephant]] enclosure and to bring in female elephants from [[Thailand]] at $50,000 apiece. The zoo named its male elephant Teddy and one of its female elephants Tamar in honor of Kollek and his wife.<ref name="friend" /> For Kollek's 90th birthday in 2001, the zoo feted him and the Jerusalem Foundation unveiled a new [[sculpture garden]] dedicated in his honor.<ref name="friend" />

== Retirement and death ==
[[File:Teddy Kollek Obit.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Posters in Jerusalem mourning Teddy Kollek, 4 January 2007]]
Kollek continued to be active in retirement, maintaining a five-day work week into his nineties, even as he became increasingly infirm.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |last=Lefkovitz |first=Etgar |title=Legendary Jerusalem mayor Kollek dies at 95 |publisher=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=2 January 2007 |url=https://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467643457&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120529175333/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467643457&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 May 2012 |access-date=3 January 2007}}</ref> He and his wife lived in their walk-up [[Rehavia]] apartment until the mid-1990s, when they moved to Hod Yerushalayim, a retirement home in the [[Kiryat HaYovel]] neighborhood.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020704/http://www.israelexperience.com/JewishAgency/English/Jewish+Education/Compelling+Content/Eye+on+Israel/Gallery+of+People+(Biographies)/Kollek+Teddy.htm Kollek Teddy<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

Kollek died on 2 January 2007.<ref name="washpostobit" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Boudreaux |first=Richard |date=3 January 2007 |title=Teddy Kollek, 95; Jerusalem mayor was a founding father of Israel |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-03-me-kollek3-story.html |access-date=23 April 2012 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> He is buried at the [[Mount Herzl]] national cemetery.

== Awards and distinctions ==
[[File:Teddy Kollek sculpture in Jerusalem.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of Kollek]]
* In 1985, Kollek was awarded the [[Peace Prize of the German Book Trade]].
* In 1988, he was awarded the [[Israel Prize]] for his special contribution to society and the State of Israel.<ref name=prize>{{Cite web
 |title=Israel Prize Official Site – Recipients in 1988 (in Hebrew)
 |access-date=1 July 2009
| url=http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashmag/Tashnab_Tashmag_Rikuz.htm?DictionaryKey=Tashmach
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716090213/http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashmag/Tashnab_Tashmag_Rikuz.htm?DictionaryKey=Tashmach
 |archive-date=16 July 2011
}}</ref>
* In 1988, he received the Four Freedoms Award from the [[Roosevelt Institute]] for the Freedom of Worship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/four-freedoms-awards |title=Celebrating those whose life's work embodies FDR's Four Freedoms. |access-date=13 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325223647/http://www.rooseveltinstitute.org/four-freedoms-awards |archive-date=25 March 2015 }}</ref>
* In 1996, Kollek was awarded the Prize of Tolerance of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts.
* In 2001, he was honoured with the title of [[List of honorary citizens of Vienna|Honorary Citizen of Vienna]].
In Jerusalem, the [[Teddy Stadium]] in [[Malha]] and [[Teddy Park (Jerusalem)|Teddy Park]] are named after him.

== Publications ==

* Kollek, Teddy; Pearlman, Moshe (1968): ''Jerusalem: A History of Forty Centuries'', Random House, New York City, {{ISBN|0-3944-3125-1}}
* Kollek, Teddy; Kollek, Amos (1978): ''For Jerusalem: A Life'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, {{ISBN|0-2977-7290-2}}

== See also ==
* [[List of mayors of Jerusalem]]
* [[List of Israel Prize recipients]]
* [[List of honorary citizens of Vienna]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Bachi-Kolodny |first=Ruth |year=2008 |title=Teddy Kollek. The Man, His Life and His Jerusalem |publisher=Gefen Publishing House |isbn=978-965-229-417-3 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Shepher |first=Naomi |year=1987 |title=The Mayor and the Citadel- Teddy Kollek and Jerusalem |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |location=London |isbn=0-297-79209-1 }}

== External links ==
{{commons category}}
* {{YouTube|VzLv4no3Fdk|Interview}} by [[Leon Charney]] on The Leon Charney Report

{{Mayors of Jerusalem}}
{{Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Politics|Israel|Austria}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kollek, Teddy}}
[[Category:1911 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Mayors of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Mayors of places in Israel]]
[[Category:Jewish mayors]]
[[Category:Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients]]
[[Category:Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine]]
[[Category:Israeli Ashkenazi Jews]]
[[Category:Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Austrian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine]]
[[Category:Austrian Jews]]
[[Category:Hungarian Jews]]
[[Category:Burials at Mount Herzl]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]]
[[Category:People from Veszprém County]]