Kerem Hatemanim
Encyclopedia
Kerem HaTeimanim is a neighbourhood
in the center of Tel Aviv
, Israel
. Its English
translation is literally 'Vineyard of the Yemenites'. Its population is estimated at around 80,000, the majority of whom being Yemenite Jews. It is adjacent to the Carmel Market
and Allenby Street
, and is close to Geula Beach. Unlike other Tel Avivian neighbourhoods, it is quite observant
, owing mainly to the high observance rate of the Yemenite pioneers who built the neighbourhood. The majority of the descendants of those pioneers still inhabit the neighbourhood today.
, it was known for its staunch support of the Etzel
and the Lehi
. Its architecture
was based on the designs of the former Jewish ghettos in Yemen, with Colonial British and Ancient Hebrew features. This is significant since the rest of Tel Aviv was constructed in Bauhaus
architecture. Over the years, it produced many famous Israeli personalities including Knesset
Member Michael Ratzon
of the Likud
, Dan Bus Corporation Chairman Dan Sharabi, Platinum Singer Boaz Sharabi
, Israeli roots singer Daklon
and Israeli Footballer Pini Balili
, who started his career at the famous Shimshon Tel Aviv
Football Club, one of Israel's best football (soccer) clubs in the 1970s and 1980s that was born out of the neighbourhood's sporting culture. Unsurprisingly, Zohar Argov
, an 80s Yemenite Israeli Singing Superstar, who grew up in Rishon LeZion and not Tel Aviv
made an album entitled Bekerem Hateymanimhttp://www.israel-music.com/zohar_argov/bekerem_hateymanim/, in celebration of the neighbourhood's significance for Yemenite Israeli culture.
In the early 90s, it underwent a massive refurbishment campaign and was restored to its former glory in the early 2000s. In late 2004, it saw the building of the Lev HaIr Tower (see link), which became the neighbourhood's tallest building. Moreover, the tower holds a public library, offices and several commercial businesses, bringing much needed resources to the neighbourhood.
with new residents, both secular and religious, mainly due to its location in central Tel Aviv and the city's beaches. Several Yeshivot, Ulpan
im and Kollel
s, as well as its famous eateries including "Zion" and "Medina" reside in the area. It is probably the biggest Yemenite Jewish community in the world and a rival to Marmorek, an neighborhood of Rehovot
with a large Yemenite population, and is growing, aided by the linkage of the neighbourhood to the soon-to-be Tel Aviv Subway
and widening of the roads within the center of the neighbourhood. It is described as a lower middle-class neighbourhood, with a high level of educated and cultured Israelis. There are also many Ashkenazi
, Italian and Sephardi Jews
living in and around the outskirts of the neighbourhood.
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...
in the center of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Its English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation is literally 'Vineyard of the Yemenites'. Its population is estimated at around 80,000, the majority of whom being Yemenite Jews. It is adjacent to the Carmel Market
Carmel Market
The Carmel Market is the largest bazaar market in Tel Aviv. The market is bordered by Allenby Street and Magen David Square and the market is principally located along Carmel Street , but has expanded over time to streets such as Nahalat Binyamin Street...
and Allenby Street
Allenby Street
Allenby Street is a major street in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was named in honor of Field Marshal Viscount Allenby.Allenby Street stretches from the Mediterranean sea in the northwest to HaAliya Street in the southeast. It was first paved with concrete in 1914. During the day, it is a commercial street...
, and is close to Geula Beach. Unlike other Tel Avivian neighbourhoods, it is quite observant
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
, owing mainly to the high observance rate of the Yemenite pioneers who built the neighbourhood. The majority of the descendants of those pioneers still inhabit the neighbourhood today.
History
Kerem HaTeimanim was officially established in 1904, with consecration taking place between the years of 1902-1908 as an early neighbourhood in the growing pioneer city of Tel Aviv by recent immigrant Yemenite Jews, who had a Zionist ideology based on oriental and spiritual lines, rather than political or revisionist lines. Although many of its residents were part of the HaganahHaganah
Haganah was a Jewish paramilitary organization in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine from 1920 to 1948, which later became the core of the Israel Defense Forces.- Origins :...
, it was known for its staunch support of the Etzel
Irgun
The Irgun , or Irgun Zevai Leumi to give it its full title , was a Zionist paramilitary group that operated in Mandate Palestine between 1931 and 1948. It was an offshoot of the earlier and larger Jewish paramilitary organization haHaganah...
and the Lehi
Lehi (group)
Lehi , commonly referred to in English as the Stern Group or Stern Gang, was a militant Zionist group founded by Avraham Stern in the British Mandate of Palestine...
. Its architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
was based on the designs of the former Jewish ghettos in Yemen, with Colonial British and Ancient Hebrew features. This is significant since the rest of Tel Aviv was constructed in Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
architecture. Over the years, it produced many famous Israeli personalities including Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
Member Michael Ratzon
Michael Ratzon
Michael Ratzon is a former Israeli politician who briefly served as a member of the Knesset for Likud in 1996 and again from 2003 until 2006.-Biography:...
of the Likud
Likud
Likud is the major center-right political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin in an alliance with several right-wing and liberal parties. Likud's victory in the 1977 elections was a major turning point in the country's political history, marking the first time the left had...
, Dan Bus Corporation Chairman Dan Sharabi, Platinum Singer Boaz Sharabi
Boaz Sharabi
Boaz Sharabi is an Israeli singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, crooner, pianist, actor, tenor, chazan and lyricist, well-known for such integral Israeli classics as Latet, Halevai, At Li Laila, Pamela, Lashir Itach, Kol Od, Mi Yada Shekach Yihiyeh, K'Shetavo , Im At Adain Ohevet Oti and Etzli...
, Israeli roots singer Daklon
Daklon
Daklon is the nickname of an Israeli musical artist Yosef Levy. He was born in 1944 in Tel Aviv's Kerem Hateimanim neighborhood, as a son of Jewish-Yemeni immigrants from the Shar'ab region in Yemen....
and Israeli Footballer Pini Balili
Pini Balili
Pini Balili is an Israeli-Turkish footballer currently playing for Bnei Yehuda.-Move back to Hapoel:As a youngster, Balili grew up supporting Hapoel Tel Aviv and was part of the youth system there before moving to Shimshon Tel Aviv in his teens...
, who started his career at the famous Shimshon Tel Aviv
Shimshon Tel Aviv
Shimshon Tel Aviv F.C. was an Israeli football club based at the Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa. In 2000 it merged with Beitar Tel Aviv to create Beitar Shimshon Tel Aviv.-History:...
Football Club, one of Israel's best football (soccer) clubs in the 1970s and 1980s that was born out of the neighbourhood's sporting culture. Unsurprisingly, Zohar Argov
Zohar Argov
Zohar Argov was a popular Israeli singer and a distinctive voice in the Mizrahi music scene.- Background :The most serious hurdle on the way to stardom was Argov's socioeconomic background. He was born in Rishon LeZion, and grew up in a poor family, the eldest of ten children...
, an 80s Yemenite Israeli Singing Superstar, who grew up in Rishon LeZion and not Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
made an album entitled Bekerem Hateymanimhttp://www.israel-music.com/zohar_argov/bekerem_hateymanim/, in celebration of the neighbourhood's significance for Yemenite Israeli culture.
In the early 90s, it underwent a massive refurbishment campaign and was restored to its former glory in the early 2000s. In late 2004, it saw the building of the Lev HaIr Tower (see link), which became the neighbourhood's tallest building. Moreover, the tower holds a public library, offices and several commercial businesses, bringing much needed resources to the neighbourhood.
Current status
Today, the neighbourhood is being gentrifiedGentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
with new residents, both secular and religious, mainly due to its location in central Tel Aviv and the city's beaches. Several Yeshivot, Ulpan
Ulpan
An ulpan is an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew. Ulpan is a Hebrew word meaning basically studio or teaching, instruction....
im and Kollel
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time, advanced study of the Talmud and rabbinic literature. Like a yeshiva, a kollel features shiurim and learning sedarim ; unlike a yeshiva, the student body of a kollel are all married men...
s, as well as its famous eateries including "Zion" and "Medina" reside in the area. It is probably the biggest Yemenite Jewish community in the world and a rival to Marmorek, an neighborhood of Rehovot
Rehovot
Rehovot is a city in the Center District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a total population of 112,700. Rehovot's official website estimates the population at 114,000.Rehovot was built on the site of Doron,...
with a large Yemenite population, and is growing, aided by the linkage of the neighbourhood to the soon-to-be Tel Aviv Subway
Tel Aviv Subway
The Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area Mass-Transit System is a long planned mass transit system for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The system will include different types of rapid transit like light rail , bus and more....
and widening of the roads within the center of the neighbourhood. It is described as a lower middle-class neighbourhood, with a high level of educated and cultured Israelis. There are also many Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
, Italian and Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews
Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
living in and around the outskirts of the neighbourhood.