Arnona may also refer to Israeli property tax

Rates (tax)

Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government...

Arnona is a neighborhood in southern Jerusalem, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 situated between the neighborhoods of Talpiot

Talpiot

Talpiot , is a neighborhood in southeast Jerusalem, Israel, established in 1922 by Zionist pioneers.-Etymology:The name Talpiot derives from a verse in Song of Songs 4:4 – "Thy neck is like the tower of David, built with turrets." According to rabbinic sources, Talpiot refers to the Temple...

 and Ramat Rachel

Ramat Rachel

Ramat Rachel is a kibbutz located south of Jerusalem in Israel, as an enclave within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries. Overlooking Bethlehem and Rachel's Tomb and situated within the Green Line, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council...

.

Etymology

The most common explanation for the neighborhood’s name is its view of the Arnon

Arnon

Arnon is a river and wadi in western Jordan, known in modern times in Arabic as Wadi Mujib. The Hebrew name means perhaps "noisy," a term which well-describes the latter part of the course of the river. Its length is about 45 miles, from its highlands in the desert to its entrance into the Dead...

 River in Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

 running from the Moab

Moab

Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...

 Hills to the Dead Sea

Dead Sea

The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...

.

Geography

Arnona is one of the highest points in Jerusalem at 800 meters above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

. From Arnona one can see the Judean Desert

Judean desert

The Judaean Desert is a desert in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. It stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by terraces with escarpments. It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan...

, the Dead Sea, and, as mentioned, the Arnona River. The neighborhood is bordered by Derech Hevron and Talpiot to the west, Kibbutz Ramat Rachel to the south, Old Talpiot

East Talpiot

East Talpiot is a neighborhood in southeastern Jerusalem, established in 1973 in the upswing of building that followed the Six-Day War. The neighborhood is located in East Jerusalem, unilaterally annexed to Israel but internationally recognized as being a part of the West Bank...

 to the north, and the Judean Desert to the east.

History

Arnona was founded in 1931 (5691 according to the Jewish calendar) on land owned by the Keren HaEzra company according to plans created by the architect Richard Kaufmann. In 1935, another neighborhood named “Binyan v’Melacha” was founded alongside Talpiot; this neighborhood has since been incorporated into the Arnona area. Together with other nearby Jewish areas (Talpiot and Mekor Chaim), Arnona gradually became a southern suburb of Jerusalem separated from the main city by the Arab neighborhoods of Baka and Talbieh, and the German Colony

German Colony

The term German Colony can refer to:* German colonial empire, the former colonies of Germany* German Colony, Jerusalem a Templer settlement* German Colony, Haifa a Templer settlement...

 area.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War

1948 Arab-Israeli War

The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, known to Israelis as the War of Independence or War of Liberation The war commenced after the termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and the creation of an independent Israel at midnight on 14 May 1948 when, following a period of civil war, Arab armies invaded...

, Arnona was on the front line. In May 1948, Arnona was occupied by Arab forces. An attack by Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian, Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

ian, and local Arab troops led to a retreat by Jewish forces from Arnona and Ramat Rachel. A combined unit of the Hagana and Palmach

Palmach

The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...

 later retook the area.

The 1949 cease fire agreement

1949 Armistice Agreements

The 1949 Armistice Agreements are a set of agreements signed during 1949 between Israel and neighboring Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. The agreements ended the official hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and established armistice lines between Israeli forces and the forces in...

 with Jordan placed the cease-fire line at the eastern border of Arnona. This cease fire line was part of the "Kav Ironi", the Jerusalem section of the Green line

Green Line (Israel)

Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...

 separating the Jordanian and Israeli armies. The border was patrolled by a dedicated force, but the only physical barrier was an unguarded barbed-wire fence. With the Six-Day War

Six-Day War

The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...

 in 1967, Arnona gained its current borders.

Modern era

Until the 1990s, Arnona was similar in nature to the Old Talpiot area. During the 1990s, a widespread building trend led to a rise in property value and made Arnona into a relatively upscale neighborhood. Structures in the area are generally no more than six stories in height. Today, virtually all plots of land in Arnona are occupied. Much of the land currently built on was sold to developers by the Ramat Rachel Kibbutz

Kibbutz

A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...