van Vriesland, Siegfried Adolf

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VAN VRIESLAND, SIEGFRIED ADOLF

VAN VRIESLAND, SIEGFRIED ADOLF (Zadok ; 1886–1939), Zionist leader. Born in Haarlem, Holland, Van Vries land practiced law in Rotterdam and joined the Zionist movement in 1910. He became secretary of the Dutch Zionist Organization before World War i and, in 1919, settled in Palestine, where he was appointed treasurer of the Zionist Executive and was later active in the Haganah. He was Dutch consul-general in Palestine from 1929 and a member of the Zionist Executive from 1923 to 1927. Van Vriesland served as treasurer of the Executive during the difficult period for the yishuv and tried to balance its budget despite the economic crisis. From 1929 he was a member of the board of directors of the Dead Sea potash company. In 1936 he became manager of the port of Tel Aviv, opened during the Arab riots of that year. Three years later he decided to retire from public life and devote himself to art.

bibliography:

Tidhar, 2 (1948), 602–3.

[Eliezer Livneh]

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