Moshe Chelouche

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Moshe “Musa” Chelouche (April 7, 1892 – February 26, 1968) was a Jewish politician and businessman in Mandatory Palestine and Israel. He served as Tel Aviv’s third mayor in October 1936 for ten days.

Chelouche was born in Jaffa, then part of the Ottoman Empire. He studied in Jaffa, Marseille, and Beirut. His father, Yosef Eliyahu Chelouche, founded Tel Aviv, and his family had deep Zionist ties. During World War I, he helped Jewish immigrants gain Ottoman citizenship and helped Zionist activists escape persecution. He was captured by the Ottomans in 1915 and imprisoned in Damascus for a year.

In 1928, Chelouche was elected to Tel Aviv’s City Council and was re-elected in 1935. After Mayor Meir Dizengoff died in September 1936, Chelouche returned from France to participate in the race to succeed him. The City Council elected him mayor on October 19, 1936, by a single vote, defeating acting mayor Israel Rokach. On October 30, High Commissioner Arthur Wauchope invalidated the election and appointed Rokach instead. The council condemned the decision on November 15.

Chelouche also served as Bulgaria’s honorary consul to Mandatory Palestine from 1930 to 1940, resigning after Bulgaria enacted anti-Jewish laws. He helped found the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. He was married to Rachel, the daughter of a rabbi, and they had a son, Aharon, and a daughter, Leah.