| Summary/Abstract |
This article discusses the birth of the municipality in the city of Acre after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Hitherto a predominantly Arab city, Acre became a mixed city following the Palestinian exodus and the Jewish immigration wave. However, despite the sizable Jewish community, Acre, like other Arab-majority cities in the newly-established Jewish State, was placed under military rule. The article examines archival material to draw out the local power struggles in Acre until the lifting of the military rule in the city and the election of its first mayor in October 1951 and explores the intricate interrelations between the local actors and the central government. Acre thus serves as a case study for an analysis of the tactics used by Mapai, Israel’s ruling party, to combat its political rivals in the Arab sector—most notably the Israeli Communist Party—and exert its hegemony over Israel’s Arab minority.
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