Ma'alot Dafna
Encyclopedia
Ma’alot Dafna is a Jewish neighborhood in northern Jerusalem. It borders the neighborhood of Shmuel HaNavi
to the west, Ammunition Hill to the east, Ramat Eshkol
to the north and Arzei HaBira
to the south.
troops at the Battle of Ammunition Hill. Its name, translated to "Bay Laurel Heights", commemorates Israel's victory in that war, the Bay laurel
being a symbol of victory.
The name Ma'alot Dafna also refers to the ma'alot (Hebrew for "steps") up to the dafna (Hebrew for overlapping rose petals), referring to the layered buildings of the hillside neighborhood.
The neighborhood includes a sub-neighborhood called Arzei HaBira
(Cedars of the Capitol), which was built on territory on the Israeli side of the armistice
line before the war. Arzei HaBira is now considered a separate neighborhood, with more than 200 families. The rest of Ma’alot Dafna was built on territory that had been either no man's land
or land used by the Jordanian military.
Ma'alot Dafna was built as part of the sequence of Jewish neighborhoods called the bariah or "hinge" neighborhoodsסיור לאורך "הקו העירוני", אילן שפירא connecting West Jerusalem to Mount Scopus
. On July 1967, Prime Minister
Levi Eshkol
gave a clerk named Yehuda Tamir unusual authority to overlook governmental building license policy in order to speed up the establishment of the "hinge" neighborhoods (Ma’alot Dafna, Ramat Eshkol, Givat HaMivtar
, and French Hill
). The neighborhood was designed so that it could serve the adjacent neighborhood of Shmuel HaNavi, a poorly-designed and problematic lower-class neighborhood, which until the Six Day War faced a large enemy fort.
couples who come to Israel for one or more years of kollel
study at the nearby Mir yeshiva
. The latter group creates a high turnover rate in the Anglo community.
s)), by the contractor company “Shikun U'Pituakh”; chief of architects Y. Drexler. It initially consisted entirely of four-story apartment houses of two to three bedrooms per apartment. The buildings are faced with Jerusalem stone
and include architectural elements typical to the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as modern ones. The neighborhood has large areas reserved for pedestrian traffic.
Shmuel HaNavi (neighborhood)
Shmuel HaNavi is a neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. It is located in the north of the city bordering Ramat Eshkol, Maalot Dafna and Sanhedria....
to the west, Ammunition Hill to the east, Ramat Eshkol
Ramat Eshkol
Ramat Eshkol is a neighborhood in north-eastern Jerusalem. It was built on land captured from Jordan in the Six-Day War and was the first neighborhood built in East Jerusalem after the Six-Day War in 1967...
to the north and Arzei HaBira
Arzei HaBira
Arzei Habira is a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. It is bordered by Ma'alot Dafna to the north, the Shmuel Hanavi quarter to the west, Beit Yisrael to the south, and Road 1 and Sheikh Jarrah to the east.-Name:...
to the south.
History
Ma'alot Dafna was established in 1972 on the hillside through which Israeli troops in the Six Day War made their way from the Israeli neighborhood of Shmuel HaNavi to fight the Arab LegionArab Legion
The Arab Legion was the regular army of Transjordan and then Jordan in the early part of the 20th century.-Creation:...
troops at the Battle of Ammunition Hill. Its name, translated to "Bay Laurel Heights", commemorates Israel's victory in that war, the Bay laurel
Bay Laurel
The bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
being a symbol of victory.
The name Ma'alot Dafna also refers to the ma'alot (Hebrew for "steps") up to the dafna (Hebrew for overlapping rose petals), referring to the layered buildings of the hillside neighborhood.
The neighborhood includes a sub-neighborhood called Arzei HaBira
Arzei HaBira
Arzei Habira is a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. It is bordered by Ma'alot Dafna to the north, the Shmuel Hanavi quarter to the west, Beit Yisrael to the south, and Road 1 and Sheikh Jarrah to the east.-Name:...
(Cedars of the Capitol), which was built on territory on the Israeli side of the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
line before the war. Arzei HaBira is now considered a separate neighborhood, with more than 200 families. The rest of Ma’alot Dafna was built on territory that had been either no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
or land used by the Jordanian military.
Ma'alot Dafna was built as part of the sequence of Jewish neighborhoods called the bariah or "hinge" neighborhoodsסיור לאורך "הקו העירוני", אילן שפירא connecting West Jerusalem to Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
. On July 1967, Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Levi Eshkol
Levi Eshkol
' served as the third Prime Minister of Israel from 1963 until his death from a heart attack in 1969. He was the first Israeli Prime Minister to die in office.-Biography:...
gave a clerk named Yehuda Tamir unusual authority to overlook governmental building license policy in order to speed up the establishment of the "hinge" neighborhoods (Ma’alot Dafna, Ramat Eshkol, Givat HaMivtar
Givat HaMivtar
Givat HaMivtar is a Jewish neighborhood in northern Jerusalem established in 1970 between Ramat Eshkol and French Hill. It is located on a hill where an important battle took place in the Six Day War. Archaeological excavations have revealed important ancient Jewish tombs in the region...
, and French Hill
French Hill
French Hill , also Giv'at Shapira is a neighborhood in northeastern Jerusalem. It is located on territory occupied during the Six-Day War in 1967, later annexed to Israel under the Jerusalem Law in 1980...
). The neighborhood was designed so that it could serve the adjacent neighborhood of Shmuel HaNavi, a poorly-designed and problematic lower-class neighborhood, which until the Six Day War faced a large enemy fort.
Demographics
Ma'alot Dafna now has a population of about 420 families, of which 220 are Anglo-born and 200 are Israeli. Most of the Anglo community is commprised of American HarediHaredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
couples who come to Israel for one or more years of 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...
study at the nearby Mir yeshiva
Mir yeshiva (Jerusalem)
The Mir yeshiva , known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, is an Orthodox Jewish yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel. With 6,000 students, it is the largest yeshiva in Israel. Many of the students are from the United States and Canada. It is also believed to be the largest yeshiva in the world...
. The latter group creates a high turnover rate in the Anglo community.
Architecture
Ma’alot Dafna is a small neighborhood, originally built for a population of 4,000 (1,400 apartmentApartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...
s)), by the contractor company “Shikun U'Pituakh”; chief of architects Y. Drexler. It initially consisted entirely of four-story apartment houses of two to three bedrooms per apartment. The buildings are faced with Jerusalem stone
Jerusalem stone
Jerusalem stone is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, dolomite and dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been used in building since ancient times...
and include architectural elements typical to the Old City of Jerusalem, as well as modern ones. The neighborhood has large areas reserved for pedestrian traffic.
Notable institutes
- René CassinRené CassinRené Samuel Cassin was a French jurist, law professor and judge. A soldier in World War I, he later went on to form the Union Fédérale, a leftist, pacifist Veterans organisation...
High School serves the secular population of the northern Jerusalem neighborhoods. In its prime, it had 60 classes of 40 students each. Its students learned three languages: Hebrew, EnglishEnglish languageEnglish 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...
and FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. - Yeshivat Ohr SomayachOhr Somayach, JerusalemOhr Somayach was founded in 1970. It is a yeshiva based in Jerusalem, Israel, catering mostly to young Jewish men, usually of college age, who are already interested in learning about Judaism...
is one of the most notable yeshivaYeshivaYeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
s in Israel for baal teshuvaBaal teshuvaBaal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jew who turns to embrace Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "repentant", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
men. - The Jerusalem offices of United Nations Interim Force in LebanonUnited Nations Interim Force in LebanonThe United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, was created by the United Nations, with the adoption of Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 on 19 March 1978, to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon which Israel had invaded five days prior, restore international peace and security,...