Yehoshua Suprasky
SUPRASKY, YEHOSHUA (1879–1948), General Zionist leader in Ereẓ Israel. Born in Goniadz, Bialystok district, Suprasky engaged in trade and industry. He was a delegate to the Zionist Conference in Minsk (1902), was a member of the Zionist central committee in Russia, and worked for investment in Ereẓ Israel. He visited Ereẓ Israel in 1912 and in 1914 and settled there in 1920. He founded the Ha-Manḥil Company to build houses in Tel Aviv as well as the Tiberias Hot Springs Co. Ltd., and the Kinneret Company in Tiberias. He was a member of the Tel Aviv municipal council (1925–32), vice chairman of the community board, and a member of the Va'ad Le'ummi. A leader of the *General Zionists in Palestine and of the world movement, he advocated the encouragement of private initiative in the settlement and upbuilding of Ereẓ Israel. Suprasky was also a member of the Zionist General Council (1921–48), a delegate to 14 Zionist Congresses (from the fifth to the 19th), and a founder of the Mifdeh Ezraḥi (a building and loan fund). Neveh Yehoshu'a in Ramat Gan is named in his honor.
Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.