Mount of Olives
Encyclopedia
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem
with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters (2,683 ft). It is named for the olive groves
that once covered its slopes. The Mount of Olives is associated predominantly with Jewish and Christian
traditions but also contains several sites important in Islam
. The mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves.
From Biblical times until today, Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives. The necropolis on the southern ridge, the location of the modern village of Silwan
, was the burial place of the city's most important citizens in the period of the Biblical kings. There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including tombs traditionally associated with Zechariah and Avshalom. On the upper slope, the traditional Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi is situated. Notable rabbis buried on the mount include Chaim ibn Attar
and others from the 15th-century to present.
Roman soldiers
from the 10th Legion
camped on the Mount during the Siege of Jerusalem
in the year 70 CE. The religious ceremony marking the start of a new month was held on the Mount of Olives in the days of the Second Temple
. After the destruction of the Temple, Jews celebrated the festival of Sukkot
on the Mount of Olives. They made pilgrimages to the Mount of Olives because it was 80 meters higher than the Temple Mount and offered a panoramic view of the Temple site. It became a traditional place for lamenting the Temple's destruction, especially on Tisha B'Av
. In 1481, an Italian Jewish pilgrim, Rabbi Meshulam Da Volterra, wrote: "And all the community of Jews, every year, goes up to Mount Zion on the day of Tisha B'Av to fast and mourn, and from there they move down along Yoshafat Valley and up to Mount of Olives. From there they see the whole Temple (the Temple Mount) and there they weep and lament the destruction of this House." In the mid-1850s, the villagers of Silwan
were paid £100 annually by the Jews in an effort to prevent the desecration of graves on the mount.
During the Islamization of Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation
from 1948 to 1967, Jewish burials were halted, massive vandalism took place, and 40,000 of the 50,000 graves were desecrated. King Hussein permitted the construction of the Intercontinental Hotel
at the summit of the Mount of Olives together with a road that cut through the cemetery which destroyed hundreds of Jewish graves, some from the First Temple Period. After the Six-Day War
, restoration work began, and the cemetery was re-opened for burials.
Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin
asked to be buried on the Mount of Olives near the grave of Etzel
member Meir Feinstein
, rather than Mount Herzl
national cemetery.
's flight from Absalom
(II Samuel
15:30): "And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up." The ascent was probably east of the City of David, near the village of Silwan
. The sacred character of the mount is alluded to in the Ezekiel
(11:23): "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city." According to the Old Testament, Solomon
built altars to the gods of his wives on the southern peak (I Kings
11:7–8). During the reign of King Josiah
, the mount was called the Mount of Corruption (II Kings
23:13). An apocalyptic prophecy in the Book of Zechariah
states that Yahweh
will stand on the Mount of Olives and the mountain will split in two, with one half shifting north and one half shifting south (Zechariah 14:4). According to the Masoretic Text, people will flee through this newly-formed valley to a place called Azal
(Zechariah 14:5). The Septuagint (LXX) has a different reading of Zechariah 14:5 stating that a valley will be blocked up as it was blocked up during the earthquake during King Uzziah's reign. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentions in Antiquities of the Jews that the valley in the area of the King's Gardens was blocked up by landslide rubble during Uzziah's earthquake. Israeli geologists Wachs and Levitte identified the remnant of a large landslide on the Mount of Olives directly adjacent to this area. Based on geographic and linguistic evidence, Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau
, a 19th-century linguist and archeologist in Palestine, theorized that the valley directly adjacent to this landslide is Azal. This evidence accords with the LXX reading of Zechariah 14:5 which states that the valley will be blocked up as far as Azal. If Clermont-Ganneau is correct, the notion of people fleeing east through the split Mount of Olives to Azal is impossible because the valley he identified (which is now known as Wady Yasul in Arabic, and Nahal Etzel in Hebrew) lies south of both Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.
The biblical designation Har HaMashchit derives from the idol worship there, begun by King Solomon's Moab
ite and Ammon
ite wives "on the mountain which is before (east of) Jerusalem" (Kings I 11:17), just outside the limits of the holy city. This site was infamous for idol worship throughout the First Temple period, until king of Judah, Josiah
, finally destroyed "the high places that were before Jerusalem, to the right of Har HaMashchit,..."
The Mount of Olives is frequently mentioned in the New Testament
as the route from Jerusalem to Bethany
and the place where Jesus
stood when he wept over Jerusalem. Jesus is said to have spent time on the mount, teaching and prophesying to his disciples (Matthew 24–25), including the Olivet discourse
, returning after each day to rest (Luke
21:37), and also coming there on the night of his betrayal . At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the Garden of Gethsemane
. The New Testament, tells how Jesus and his friends sang together – "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" Gospel of Matthew
26:30. Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mt of Olives as recorded in the book of Acts 1:9–12.
occupied East Jerusalem
, including the Mount of Olives, and held it until the 1967 Six-Day War
. During this period, Jordan annexed its part of the city, but this was recognized only by the United Kingdom
and Pakistan
. Jordan had obligated itself within the framework of the 3 April 1949 Armistice Agreement to allow "free access to the holy sites and cultural institutions and use of the cemeteries on the Mount of Olives." Non-Israeli Christian pilgrims were allowed to visit the Mount, but Jews of all countries and most non-Jewish Israeli citizens were barred from entering Jordan and therefore were unable to travel to the area. This was in direct violation of the agreed-to armistice.
By the end of 1949, and throughout the Jordanian occupation of the site, some Arab residents uprooted tombstones and plowed the land in the cemeteries and an estimated 38,000 tombstones were damaged in total. During this period, four roads were paved through the cemeteries, in the process destroying graves including those of famous persons. Buildings, including the Seven Arches Hotel
(formerly Intercontinental Hotel) and a gas station, were erected on top of ancient graves.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank
in the 1967 Six-day War
and has occupied those territories
since. In an act condemned as a violation of international law and ruled null and void by the UN Security Council in UNSC Resolution 478
, Israel unilaterally annexed
East Jerusalem in 1980.
On 6 November 2010, an international watch-committee was set up by non-Israeli Jews with the aim of reversing the desecration of the Jewish cemetery. According to one of the founders, the initiative was triggered by witnessing tombstones that were wrecked with "the kind of maliciousness that defies the imagination."
campuses of both the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
, and the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center
abuts the mount on the north. Landmarks on the Mount of Olives include Yad Avshalom
, the Tomb of Zechariah
, the Church of all Nations
, the Church of Maria Magdalene
, Dominus Flevit Church
, Chapel of the Ascension
, Gethsemane
, Mary's Tomb
, Church of the Pater Noster
, the Seven Arches Hotel
, Orson Hyde Park and Beit Orot
. At the foot of the mountain lies Emek Tzurim National Park
and the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation
.
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters (2,683 ft). It is named for the olive groves
Olive
The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
that once covered its slopes. The Mount of Olives is associated predominantly with Jewish and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
traditions but also contains several sites important in Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. The mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves.
History
Silwan
Silwan or Wadi Hilweh is a predominantly Palestinian village adjacent to the Old City of Jerusalem. In recent years a small Jewish minority of 40 families has settled in the area. The village is located in East Jerusalem, an area occupied by Jordan from 1948 until the 1967 Six-day War and by Israel...
, was the burial place of the city's most important citizens in the period of the Biblical kings. There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including tombs traditionally associated with Zechariah and Avshalom. On the upper slope, the traditional Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi is situated. Notable rabbis buried on the mount include Chaim ibn Attar
Chaim ibn Attar
Chaim ben Moses ibn Attar also known as the Ohr ha-Chaim after his popular commentary on the Pentateuch, was a Talmudist and kabbalist; born at Meknes, Morocco, in 1696; died in Jerusalem, Israel July 7, 1743. He was one of the most prominent rabbis in Morocco.In 1733 he decided to leave his native...
and others from the 15th-century to present.
Roman soldiers
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
from the 10th Legion
Legio X Fretensis
Legio X Fretensis was a Roman legion levied by Augustus Caesar in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolution of the Roman Republic...
camped on the Mount during the Siege of Jerusalem
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
in the year 70 CE. The religious ceremony marking the start of a new month was held on the Mount of Olives in the days of the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
. After the destruction of the Temple, Jews celebrated the festival of Sukkot
Sukkot
Sukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
on the Mount of Olives. They made pilgrimages to the Mount of Olives because it was 80 meters higher than the Temple Mount and offered a panoramic view of the Temple site. It became a traditional place for lamenting the Temple's destruction, especially on Tisha B'Av
Tisha B'Av
|Av]],") is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date...
. In 1481, an Italian Jewish pilgrim, Rabbi Meshulam Da Volterra, wrote: "And all the community of Jews, every year, goes up to Mount Zion on the day of Tisha B'Av to fast and mourn, and from there they move down along Yoshafat Valley and up to Mount of Olives. From there they see the whole Temple (the Temple Mount) and there they weep and lament the destruction of this House." In the mid-1850s, the villagers of Silwan
Silwan
Silwan or Wadi Hilweh is a predominantly Palestinian village adjacent to the Old City of Jerusalem. In recent years a small Jewish minority of 40 families has settled in the area. The village is located in East Jerusalem, an area occupied by Jordan from 1948 until the 1967 Six-day War and by Israel...
were paid £100 annually by the Jews in an effort to prevent the desecration of graves on the mount.
During the Islamization of Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation
Islamization of Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation
Islamization of Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation refers to the allegation that Jordan sought to transform the demographics and character of East Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967 in order to make it more Muslim. Egyptian political commentator Bat Ye'or and Mayor of Jerusalem Teddy Kollek have...
from 1948 to 1967, Jewish burials were halted, massive vandalism took place, and 40,000 of the 50,000 graves were desecrated. King Hussein permitted the construction of the Intercontinental Hotel
Seven Arches Hotel
The Seven Arches Hotel is a hotel in East Jerusalem in the Arab neighborhood of A-Tur on the Mount of Olives. The hotel overlooks the Jewish cemetery that covers the slopes of the mountain...
at the summit of the Mount of Olives together with a road that cut through the cemetery which destroyed hundreds of Jewish graves, some from the First Temple Period. After 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...
, restoration work began, and the cemetery was re-opened for burials.
Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin
' was a politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of the State of Israel. Before independence, he was the leader of the Zionist militant group Irgun, the Revisionist breakaway from the larger Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah. He proclaimed a revolt, on 1 February 1944,...
asked to be buried on the Mount of Olives near the grave of 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...
member Meir Feinstein
Meir Feinstein
Meir Feinstein was born in the Old City of Jerusalem. His parents, Bela and Eliezer, immigrated from Brisk. He was an Irgun operative who lost an arm on Oct. 30, 1946 while planting an Improvised Explosive Device in the railway station in Jerusalem, and was subsequently captured and sentenced to...
, rather than Mount Herzl
Mount Herzl
Mount Herzl , also Har HaZikaron , is the national cemetery of Israel on the west side of Jerusalem. It is named for Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. Herzl's tomb lies at the top of the hill. Yad Vashem, which commemorates the Holocaust, lies to the west of Mt. Herzl....
national cemetery.
Old Testament references
The Mount of Olives is first mentioned in connection with DavidDavid
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
's flight from Absalom
Absalom
According to the Bible, Absalom or Avshalom was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maachah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. describes him as the most handsome man in the kingdom...
(II Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
15:30): "And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up." The ascent was probably east of the City of David, near the village of Silwan
Silwan
Silwan or Wadi Hilweh is a predominantly Palestinian village adjacent to the Old City of Jerusalem. In recent years a small Jewish minority of 40 families has settled in the area. The village is located in East Jerusalem, an area occupied by Jordan from 1948 until the 1967 Six-day War and by Israel...
. The sacred character of the mount is alluded to in the Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
(11:23): "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city." According to the Old Testament, Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
built altars to the gods of his wives on the southern peak (I Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
11:7–8). During the reign of King Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
, the mount was called the Mount of Corruption (II Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
23:13). An apocalyptic prophecy in the Book of Zechariah
Book of Zechariah
The Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
states that Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
will stand on the Mount of Olives and the mountain will split in two, with one half shifting north and one half shifting south (Zechariah 14:4). According to the Masoretic Text, people will flee through this newly-formed valley to a place called Azal
Azal (Bible)
Azal , or Azel, is the location mentioned in the Book of Zechariah 14:5 in bibles that use the Hebrew Masoretic Text as the source for this verse...
(Zechariah 14:5). The Septuagint (LXX) has a different reading of Zechariah 14:5 stating that a valley will be blocked up as it was blocked up during the earthquake during King Uzziah's reign. Jewish historian Flavius Josephus mentions in Antiquities of the Jews that the valley in the area of the King's Gardens was blocked up by landslide rubble during Uzziah's earthquake. Israeli geologists Wachs and Levitte identified the remnant of a large landslide on the Mount of Olives directly adjacent to this area. Based on geographic and linguistic evidence, Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau
Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau
Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau was a noted French Orientalist and archaeologist.-Biography:Clermont-Ganneau was born in Paris, son of a sculptor of some repute...
, a 19th-century linguist and archeologist in Palestine, theorized that the valley directly adjacent to this landslide is Azal. This evidence accords with the LXX reading of Zechariah 14:5 which states that the valley will be blocked up as far as Azal. If Clermont-Ganneau is correct, the notion of people fleeing east through the split Mount of Olives to Azal is impossible because the valley he identified (which is now known as Wady Yasul in Arabic, and Nahal Etzel in Hebrew) lies south of both Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.
The biblical designation Har HaMashchit derives from the idol worship there, begun by King Solomon's 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...
ite and Ammon
Ammon
Ammon , also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan's capital...
ite wives "on the mountain which is before (east of) Jerusalem" (Kings I 11:17), just outside the limits of the holy city. This site was infamous for idol worship throughout the First Temple period, until king of Judah, Josiah
Josiah
Josiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
, finally destroyed "the high places that were before Jerusalem, to the right of Har HaMashchit,..."
New Testament references
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
as the route from Jerusalem to Bethany
Bethany (Israel)
Bethany is recorded in the New Testament as the home of the siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, as well as that of Simon the Leper...
and the place where Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
stood when he wept over Jerusalem. Jesus is said to have spent time on the mount, teaching and prophesying to his disciples (Matthew 24–25), including the Olivet discourse
Olivet discourse
The Olivet discourse or Olivet prophecy is a biblical passage found in the Synoptic Gospels of Mark 13, Matthew 24, Luke 21. It is known as the "Little Apocalypse" because it includes Jesus' descriptions of the end times, the use of apocalyptic language, and Jesus' warning to his followers that...
, returning after each day to rest (Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
21:37), and also coming there on the night of his betrayal . At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the Garden of Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
. The New Testament, tells how Jesus and his friends sang together – "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" Gospel of Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
26:30. Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mt of Olives as recorded in the book of Acts 1:9–12.
Status since 1948
In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, JordanJordan
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...
occupied East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
, including the Mount of Olives, and held it until the 1967 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...
. During this period, Jordan annexed its part of the city, but this was recognized only by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Jordan had obligated itself within the framework of the 3 April 1949 Armistice Agreement to allow "free access to the holy sites and cultural institutions and use of the cemeteries on the Mount of Olives." Non-Israeli Christian pilgrims were allowed to visit the Mount, but Jews of all countries and most non-Jewish Israeli citizens were barred from entering Jordan and therefore were unable to travel to the area. This was in direct violation of the agreed-to armistice.
By the end of 1949, and throughout the Jordanian occupation of the site, some Arab residents uprooted tombstones and plowed the land in the cemeteries and an estimated 38,000 tombstones were damaged in total. During this period, four roads were paved through the cemeteries, in the process destroying graves including those of famous persons. Buildings, including the Seven Arches Hotel
Seven Arches Hotel
The Seven Arches Hotel is a hotel in East Jerusalem in the Arab neighborhood of A-Tur on the Mount of Olives. The hotel overlooks the Jewish cemetery that covers the slopes of the mountain...
(formerly Intercontinental Hotel) and a gas station, were erected on top of ancient graves.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
in the 1967 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...
and has occupied those territories
Israeli-occupied territories
The Israeli-occupied territories are the territories which have been designated as occupied territory by the United Nations and other international organizations, governments and others to refer to the territory seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967 from Egypt, Jordan, and Syria...
since. In an act condemned as a violation of international law and ruled null and void by the UN Security Council in UNSC Resolution 478
United Nations Security Council Resolution 478
United Nations Security Council Resolution 478, adopted on August 20, 1980, declared Israel's 1980 Jerusalem Law a violation of international law, and states that the Council will not recognize this law, and calls on member states to accept the decision of the council. This resolution also calls...
, Israel unilaterally annexed
Jerusalem Law
The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on July 30, 1980 .It began as a private member's bill proposed by Geula Cohen, whose original text stated that "the integrity and unity of greater Jerusalem in its boundaries after the Six-Day War...
East Jerusalem in 1980.
Recent events
As of 2010, the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives is targeted regularly by vandals. Mourners have been assaulted. Notable graves that have been defaced by vandals include those of the Gerrer Rebbe and Menahem Begin.On 6 November 2010, an international watch-committee was set up by non-Israeli Jews with the aim of reversing the desecration of the Jewish cemetery. According to one of the founders, the initiative was triggered by witnessing tombstones that were wrecked with "the kind of maliciousness that defies the imagination."
Landmarks
The Arab neighborhood of at-Tur is located on the mountain's summit, and the Mount ScopusMount 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...
campuses of both the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
, and the Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center
Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center
The Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies , situated on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem, Israel, is a satellite campus of Brigham Young University , the largest religious university in the United States...
abuts the mount on the north. Landmarks on the Mount of Olives include Yad Avshalom
Yad Avshalom
Tomb of Absalom , also called Absalom's Pillar, is an ancient monumental rock-cut tomb with a conical roof located in the Kidron Valley in Jerusalem, Israel...
, the Tomb of Zechariah
Tomb of Zechariah
The Tomb of Zechariah is an ancient stone monument adjacent to the Bnei Hazir tomb.-Architectural description:The monument is a monolith -- it is completely carved out of the solid rock and does not contain a burial chamber. The lowest part of the monument is a crepidoma, a base made of three steps...
, the Church of all Nations
Church of All Nations (Jerusalem)
The Church of All Nations, also known as the Church or Basilica of the Agony, is a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest...
, the Church of Maria Magdalene
Church of Maria Magdalene
The Church of Mary Magdalene is a Russian Orthodox church located on the Mount of Olives, near the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, Israel.-History:...
, Dominus Flevit Church
Dominus Flevit Church
Dominus Flevit is a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives immediately facing the Old City of Jerusalem.- History :Dominus Flevit, which translates from Latin as "The Lord Wept", was fashioned in the shape of a teardrop to symbolize the tears of Christ...
, Chapel of the Ascension
Chapel of the Ascension (Jerusalem)
The Chapel of the Ascension is a shrine located on the Mount of Olives, in the at-Tur district of Jerusalem. Part of a larger complex consisting first of a Christian church and monastery, then an Islamic mosque, it is located on a site the faithful traditionally believe to be the earthly spot...
, Gethsemane
Gethsemane
Gethsemane is a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem most famous as the place where, according to Biblical texts, Jesus and his disciples are said to have prayed the night before Jesus' crucifixion.- Etymology :...
, Mary's Tomb
Mary's Tomb
Mary's Tomb is a tomb located in the Kidron Valley, on the foothills of Mount of Olives, near the Church of All Nations and Gethsemane garden, originally just outside Jerusalem...
, Church of the Pater Noster
Church of the Pater Noster
The Church of the Pater Noster, also known as the Sancturay of the Eleona , is a partially reconstructed Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives, north of the Tombs of the Prophets, in Jerusalem. It stands on the traditional site of Christ's teaching of the Lord's Prayer...
, the Seven Arches Hotel
Seven Arches Hotel
The Seven Arches Hotel is a hotel in East Jerusalem in the Arab neighborhood of A-Tur on the Mount of Olives. The hotel overlooks the Jewish cemetery that covers the slopes of the mountain...
, Orson Hyde Park and Beit Orot
Beit Orot
Beit Orot, , is a new Jewish neighborhood on the northern ridge on on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem in Israel, near the Augusta Victoria Hospital...
. At the foot of the mountain lies Emek Tzurim National Park
Emek Tzurim National Park
Emek Tzurim National Park is a national park of Israel. It is located on lower slope of the Mount of Olives and the upper reaches of the Kidron Valley, to the north-east outside of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The grounds contain the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation, and cover...
and the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation
Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation
The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation is an archaeological project begun in 2005 dedicated to recovering archaeological artifacts from 300 truckloads of topsoil removed from the Temple Mount by the waqf during the construction of the underground el-Marwani Mosque from 1996-1999...
.
Acharonim
- Chaim ibn AttarChaim ibn AttarChaim ben Moses ibn Attar also known as the Ohr ha-Chaim after his popular commentary on the Pentateuch, was a Talmudist and kabbalist; born at Meknes, Morocco, in 1696; died in Jerusalem, Israel July 7, 1743. He was one of the most prominent rabbis in Morocco.In 1733 he decided to leave his native...
, the Ohr Hachaim - Ben Ish ChaiBen Ish ChaiYosef Chaim or in Iraqi Hebrew Yoseph Ḥayyim was a leading hakham , authority on Jewish law and Master Kabbalist...
, Sephardi rabbi and posekPosekPosek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists.... - Shalom SharabiShalom SharabiSar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a Sharabi Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a Sharabi Sar Shalom Sharabi , also known as the Rashash, the Shemesh or Ribbi Shalom Mizraḥi deyedi`a...
, the Rashash - Yaakov Chaim SoferYaakov Chaim SoferYaakov Chaim Sofer was an Orthodox rabbi, Kabbalist, Talmudist and posek . Sofer is author of the work of halakha titled Kaf Hachayim, by which title he is also known....
, the Kaf Hachaim
Rabbis
- Levi Yitzchok Bender, leader of the BreslovBreslov (Hasidic dynasty)Breslov is a branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism...
community in UmanUmanUman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
and Jerusalem - Avrohom BlumenkrantzAvrohom BlumenkrantzRabbi Avrohom Blumenkrantz was a prominent American Orthodox rabbi. He was a widely consulted authority on the laws of Passover kashrut and published an annual Passover guide for many years.-Early life:...
, American Orthodox rabbi - Yehoshua Leib DiskinYehoshua Leib DiskinYehoshua Yehuda Leib Diskin , also known as the Maharil Diskin, was a leading rabbi, Talmudist and Biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi in Łomża, Mezritch, Kovno, Shklov, Brisk and finally Jerusalem, after moving to Eretz Yisrael in 1878....
, rabbi in BriskBrest, BelarusBrest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
and Jerusalem - Shlomo ElyashivShlomo ElyashivRabbi Shlomo Elyashiv , also known as the Leshem or Ba'al HaLeshem, was a famous kabbalist, who lived in Šiauliai, Lithuania.His father was Rabbi Chayim Chaikl Eliashoff...
, Lithuanian kabbalist - Moshe Mordechai EpsteinMoshe Mordechai EpsteinMoshe Mordechai Epstein was Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century.-Childhood:...
, rosh yeshivas Slabodka, Lithuania - Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka
- Abraham Gershon of KitovAbraham Gershon of KitovAbraham Gershon of Kitov, also known as Rabbi Gershon of Brody, was probably born in or near Kuty , Poland around 1701 and died in Jerusalem in 1761. He is best known as the Baal Shem Tov's brother-in-law.- Rabbinical career :...
, brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov - Shimon HakhamShimon HakhamRabbi Shimon Hakham was a Bukharian rabbi residing in Jerusalem who promoted literacy by translating Hebrew religious books into Bukhori....
, Bukharian writer and translator of Jewish holy texts and stories in Judeo-Tajik - Moshe HalberstamMoshe HalberstamRabbi Moshe Halberstam was the son of Grand Rabbi Yaakov Halberstam of Tschakava, a scion of the Sanz dynasty, and of the daughter of Rabbi Sholom Moskowitz of Shotz of London. He was the Rosh Yeshivah of the Tschakava Yeshivah in Jerusalem and one of the most prominent members of the Edah...
, rosh yeshivas Tschakava - Yitzchok HutnerYitzchok HutnerYitzchok Hutner was an Orthodox rabbi and American rosh yeshiva.-Early years:Yitchok Hutner was born in Warsaw, Poland, to a family with both Ger Hasidic and non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish roots. As a child he received private instruction in Torah and Talmud...
, rosh yeshivas Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim BerlinYeshiva Rabbi Chaim BerlinYeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, is a Haredi Lithuanian-type yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1904 as Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, it is the oldest yeshiva in Kings County...
, BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York - Judah he-HasidJudah he-Hasid (Jerusalem)Judah he-Hasid Segal ha-Levi was a Jewish preacher who led the largest organized group of Jewish immigrants to the Land of Israel in the 17th and 18th centuries.-Departure from Europe:...
, 17th-century immigration leader - Aryeh KaplanAryeh KaplanAryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan was a noted American Orthodox rabbi and author known for his "intimate knowledge of both physics and kabbalah." He was lauded as an original thinker and prolific writer, from studies of the Torah, Talmud and mysticism to introductory pamphlets on Jewish beliefs and...
, American Orthodox rabbi and author - Zvi Yehuda KookZvi Yehuda KookZvi Yehuda Kook was a rabbi, leader of Religious Zionism and Rosh Yeshiva of the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva...
, rosh yeshivas Mercaz HaRavMercaz haRavMercaz HaRav , more properly, Mercaz HaRav Kook ), is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. It has become synonymous with his teachings.... - Avigdor MillerAvigdor MillerRabbi Avigdor Miller was a Haredi rabbi, author and lecturer in the United States. He served simultaneously as a communal rabbi and as the mashgiach ruchani of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and as a teacher in Beis Yaakov for many years.-Biography:Rabbi Miller was born in 1908 in Baltimore...
, American Orthodox rabbi, author and lecturer - Shlomo MoussaieffShlomo Moussaieff (rabbi)Shlomo Moussaieff was born in the city of Bukhara in 1852 in what is today Uzbekistan and was one of the founders of the Bukharian Quarter in Jerusalem...
, Bukharian family patriarch - Meir ben Judah Leib PoppersMeir ben Judah Leib PoppersMeir ben Judah Leib Poppers or Meir ben Judah Loeb Ha-Kohen Ashkenazi Poppers was a Bohemian rabbi and kabbalist. He was born in Prague and died in Jerusalem in February or March, 1662....
, Bohemian rabbi and kabbalist - Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-TeomimEliyahu David Rabinowitz-TeomimElijah David Rabinowitz-Teomim , also known by his acronym ADeReT, was a Lithuanian rabbi in the 19th century who served as the leader of the Jewish community of Panevėžys, as the Rosh Yeshiva of Mir, led the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem, and published many brilliant original arguments in Torah...
, rosh yeshivas MirMir yeshiva (Poland)The Mir yeshiva , commonly known as the Mirrer Yeshiva or The Mir, was a Haredi yeshiva located in the town of Mir, Russian Empire... - Zundel SalantZundel SalantYoseph Zundel of Salant was an Ashkenazi rabbi, and the primary teacher of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter.- Biography :...
, rabbi and primary teacher of Rabbi Yisrael SalanterYisrael SalanterRabbi Yisroel Lipkin, better known as "Yisroel Salanter" or "Israel Salanter" , was the father of the Musar movement in Orthodox Judaism and a famed Rosh yeshiva and Talmudist... - Yechezkel SarnaYechezkel SarnaRabbi Yechezkel Sarna was the successor to Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the Alter of Slabodka, as the spiritual mentor of that Yeshiva. He moved it from Europe to Hebron in 1925 and following the Hebron Massacre of 1929 to Jerusalem. In 1934 he assumed the position of Rosh Yeshiva...
, rosh yeshivas SlabodkaSlabodka yeshivaHebron Yeshiva, also known as Yeshivas Hevron, or Knesses Yisroel, and originally as Slabodka Yeshiva, is known colloquially as the "mother of yeshivas" and was devoted to high=level study of the Talmud. The yeshiva was located in the Lithuanian town of Slabodka, adjacent to Kovno , now... - Sholom SchwadronSholom SchwadronSholom Schwadron was a Haredi rabbi. He was known as the "Maggid of Jerusalem" for his fiery, inspirational mussar talks. Some of the stories he told about the character and conduct of Torah leaders and tzadikim of previous generations were incorporated in the "Maggid" series of books by Rabbi...
, the "Maggid of Jerusalem" - Dov Schwartzman, rosh yeshiva Yeshivas Bais HaTalmudBais HatalmudBais Hatalmud is a Yeshiva in Jerusalem founded and headed by Rabbi Dov Schwartzman....
, Jerusalem - Avraham ShapiraAvraham ShapiraAvraham Elkanah Kahana Shapira was a prominent rabbi in the Religious Zionist world. Shapira had been the head of the Rabbinical court of Jerusalem, and both a member and the head of the Supreme Rabbinic Court. He served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993...
, rosh yeshivas Mercaz HaRav - Ahron SoloveichikAhron SoloveichikRabbi Ahron Soloveichik; was a renowned scholar of Talmud, Halakha and a Rosh Yeshiva; known especially within circles of Orthodox Judaism.-Biography:...
, rosh yeshivas Brisk, Chicago - Pesach SteinPesach SteinRabbi Pesach Yitzhak Stein was a renowned Rosh Yeshiva at the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland, Ohio.-Biography:Stein was born in Breinsk in 1918...
, rosh yeshivas TelzTelshe yeshivaTelshe yeshiva was a famous Eastern European yeshiva founded in the Lithuanian town of Telšiai. After World War II the yeshiva relocated to Wickliffe, Ohio, in the United States and is currently known as the Rabbinical College of Telshe, It is one of the most prominent Haredi institutions of Torah...
, Cleveland, Ohio - Yitzchok Yaakov WeissYitzchok Yaakov WeissDayan Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss , also known as the Minchas Yitzchak, was a prominent Dayan, Halachic authority and Talmudic scholar...
, head of the Edah HaChareidis, Jerusalem
Hasidic Rebbes
- Simcha Bunim Alter, fifth GerrerGer (Hasidic dynasty)Ger, or Gur is a Hasidic dynasty originating from Ger, the Yiddish name of Góra Kalwaria, a small town in Poland....
Rebbe - Yisrael AlterYisrael AlterYisrael Alter, , also known as the Beis Yisroel after the works he authored, was the fourth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1948 until 1977....
, fourth Gerrer Rebbe - Moshe BidermanLelov (Hasidic dynasty)Lelov is the name of a Hasidic dynasty which traces its origins to Rabbi Dovid of Lelów, Poland.The Lelover dynasty migrated from Poland to Jerusalem when Rabbi Dovid's son, Rabbi Moshe Biderman , moved there in the last year of his life. Rabbi Moshe Biderman of Lelov was the son-in-law of Rabbi...
, Lelover Rebbe - Mordechai Shlomo FriedmanMordechai Shlomo FriedmanMordechai Shlomo Friedman , sometimes called Solomon Mordecai Friedman, was the Boyaner Rebbe of New York for over 40 years...
, BoyanerBoyan (Hasidic dynasty)Boyan is a Hasidic dynasty named after the town of Boiany in the Ukraine. The Hasidut is presently headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel, with communities in Beitar Ilit, Bnei Brak, London, Antwerp, Brooklyn, and Monsey, New York.-First Boyaner Rebbe:...
Rebbe of New York - Levi Yitzchak HorowitzLevi Yitzchak HorowitzLevi Yitzchak HeLevi Horowitz was a rabbi and the second Rebbe of the Boston Hasidic dynasty founded by his father, Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz...
, second BostonerBoston (Hasidic dynasty)Boston is a Hasidic sect, originally established in 1915 by Grand Rabbi Pinchas Duvid Horowitz. Following the custom of European Chassidic Courts, where the Rebbe was called after the name of his city, Bostoner Chassidus was named after Boston, Massachusetts...
Rebbe - Yosef LeiferYosef LeiferYosef Leifer was the first Rebbe and founder of the Pittsburg Hasidic dynasty in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which he led for 42 years...
, first PittsburgerPittsburg (Hasidic dynasty)Pittsburg is a Hasidic dynasty founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1924 by Rabbi Yosef Leifer, a Hungarian rabbi and descendant of Rabbi Mordechai of Nadvorna...
Rebbe - Maiden of LudmirMaiden of LudmirThe Maiden of Ludmir, , , also known as the "Ludmirer Moyd", was the only female Rebbe in the history of the Hasidic movement....
, female Hasidic rebbe - Yechiel Yehoshua Rabinowicz, Shedlitser Rebbe
- Issamar Rosenbaum, NadvornaNadvorna (Hasidic dynasty)Nadvorna is a Hasidic rabbinical dynasty within Orthodox Judaism. The dynasty derives its name from the town of Nadvorna, known in Ukrainian as Nadvirna...
Rebbe - Shaul Yedidya Elazar Taub, ModzitzerModzitz (Hasidic dynasty)Modzitz or Modzhitz is the name of a Hasidic group within Orthodox Judaism that derives its name from Modrzyce, one of the boroughs of the town of Dęblin, Poland, located on the Vistula River...
Rebbe
Chief Rabbis
- Solomon Eliezer AlfandariSolomon Eliezer AlfandariSolomon Eliezer Alfandari , also known as the Saba Kadisha , was a distinguished rabbi, kabbalist and rosh yeshiva in his native home of Constantinople, and later served as Chief Rabbi of Damascus, Syria, and Safed, Israel...
, Chief Rabbi of DamascusDamascusDamascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and SafedSafedSafed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters... - Meir Auerbach, first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem
- Chaim BerlinChaim BerlinChaim Berlin was an Orthodox rabbi and chief rabbi of Moscow from 1865 to 1889. He was the son of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin....
, Chief Rabbi of Moscow - Haim Douek, Chief Rabbi of Egypt
- Jacob Saul ElyasharJacob Saul ElyasharJacob Saul Elyashar, , was a 19th-century Sephardi rabbi who became Chief Rabbi of Palestine in 1893.He was born in Safed to Eliezer Jeroham Elyashar. In 1853 he was appointed dayan in Jerusalem and became head of the beth din in 1869. In 1893 he became the Rishon LeZion or Sephardi chief rabbi of...
, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Ottoman Palestine - Shlomo GorenShlomo GorenShlomo Goren , was an Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi in Israel who founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces and subsequently as the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983.He served in the Israel Defense Forces during three wars,...
, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel - Immanuel Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the CommonwealthCommonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, London - Abraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
, Chief Rabbi of British Mandate Palestine - Jacob MeirJacob MeirJacob Meir, , was the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi appointed under the British Mandate of Palestine. A talmudic scholar, fluent in Hebrew as well as five other languages, he enjoyed a reputation as one of Jerusalem's most respected rabbis....
, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of British Mandate Palestine - Meyer RosenbaumMeyer Rosenbaum (II)Chief Rabbi Meyer Rosenbaum was the spiritual leader of the Kehilla Adath Israel and the Chief Rabbi of Cuba from 1942 to 1958. Rabbi Rosenbaum was the founder of the Tahkemoni School in Havana. He also authored many scholarly works in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Spanish.Chief Rabbi Rosenbaum was a son...
, Chief Rabbi of CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city... - Shmuel SalantShmuel SalantShmuel Salant served as the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for almost 70years. He was a renowned Talmudist and Torah scholar.-Biography:...
, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem - Yosef Chaim SonnenfeldYosef Chaim SonnenfeldYosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, also spelled Zonnenfeld, was the Chief Rabbi and co-founder of the Edah HaChareidis, Haredi Jewish community in Jerusalem, during the years of the British Mandate of Palestine. He was originally given the name "Chaim", however, the name "Yosef" was added to him while he...
, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem - Isser Yehuda UntermanIsser Yehuda UntermanRabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1964 until 1972.Born in Brest-Litovsk in modern Belarus, Unterman was educated at the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Maltsch. There, he became a pupil of its Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Shimon Shkop...
, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel
Cultural figures
- Shmuel Yosef AgnonShmuel Yosef AgnonShmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
, Israeli writer - Princess Alice of BattenbergPrincess Alice of BattenbergPrincess Alice of Battenberg, later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and mother-in-law of Elizabeth II....
, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch.... - Judah AlkalaiJudah AlkalaiJudah ben Solomon Chai Alkalai was a Sephardic rabbi in Zemun in the Austrian Empire's District of Velika Kikinda and one of pioneers of modern Zionism....
, Zionist pioneer - Eliezer Ben-YehudaEliezer Ben-YehudaEliezer Ben‑Yehuda was a Jewish lexicographer and newspaper editor. He was the driving spirit behind the revival of the Hebrew language in the modern era.-Biography:...
, Israeli linguist - Harry FischelHarry FischelHarry Fischel was an American businessman and philanthropist based in New York City at the turn of the 20th century.Fischel was one of the leading pioneers in the growth of American Judaism, in general, and in American Jewish Orthodoxy, in particular, particularly in the dynamic precedent-setting...
, American businessman and philanthropist - Israel Dov FrumkinIsrael Dov FrumkinIsrael Dov Frumkin was a pioneer of Hebrew journalism, author, and builder of Jerusalem.-Family:His step grandfather was Aaron ha-Levi ben Moses of Staroselye. Emigrated to Jerusalem in 19 December 1859, at the age of nine, with his father, Alexander Sender Frumkin, mother and brother...
, Israeli journalist - Uri Zvi Grinberg, Israeli poet and journalist
- Yossele Rosenblatt, hazzanHazzanA hazzan or chazzan is a Jewish cantor, a musician trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.There are many rules relating to how a cantor should lead services, but the idea of a cantor as a paid professional does not exist in classical rabbinic sources...
and composer - Else Lasker-SchülerElse Lasker-SchülerElse Lasker-Schüler was a Jewish German poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressionist movement. Lasker-Schüler fled Nazi Germany and lived out the rest of her life in Jerusalem.-Biography:Schüler was born in...
, German-Jewish poet - Boris SchatzBoris SchatzBoris Schatz was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem.-Biography:Boris Schatz was born in Varniai, Kaunas district, Lithuania, under the rule of the Russian Empire in 1867. His father, a teacher in a cheder , sent him to study in a yeshiva in...
, founder of the Bezalel SchoolBezalel Academy of Art and DesignBezalel Academy of Art and Design is Israel's national school of art, founded in 1906 by Boris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figure Bezalel, son of Uri , who was appointed by Moses to oversee the design and construction of the Tabernacle ....
in Jerusalem - Henrietta SzoldHenrietta SzoldHenrietta Szold was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Hadassah Women's Organization. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandate Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.-Biography:...
, founder of HadassahHadassahHadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jewish volunteer women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organizations, with around...
Women's Organization - Ephraim UrbachEphraim UrbachEphraim Elimelech Urbach was a distinguished scholar of Judaism. He is best known for his landmark works on rabbinic thought, The Sages, and for research on the Tosafot...
, Israeli scholar
Political figures
- Eliyahu AsheriEliyahu AsheriThe murder of Eliyahu Asheri was a terror attack which carried out on June 25, 2006, in which Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees militants kidnapped, and later murdered the 17 year-old Israeli high school student Eliyahu Asheri....
, Israeli terror victim - Moshe BarazaniMoshe BarazaniMoshe Barazani, also Barzani , was an Iraqi Kurdish Jew and a member of Lehi . He was born in Baghdad to a Jewish family from Northern Iraq that moved to Jerusalem when he was an infant. He joined Lehi at an early age and took part in sabotage operations...
, Israeli independence fighter - Menahem Begin, Israeli prime minister
- Nissim BeharNissim BeharNissim Behar was a Jewish Palestinian educator, born in Jerusalem, and long associated with the Alliance Israélite Universelle, both there and in the Diaspora. After receiving his pension, he became a propagandist, in 1899...
, Zionist educator - Israel EldadIsrael EldadIsrael Eldad , was a noted Israeli independence fighter and Revisionist Zionist philosopher...
, Israeli independence fighter - Meir FeinsteinMeir FeinsteinMeir Feinstein was born in the Old City of Jerusalem. His parents, Bela and Eliezer, immigrated from Brisk. He was an Irgun operative who lost an arm on Oct. 30, 1946 while planting an Improvised Explosive Device in the railway station in Jerusalem, and was subsequently captured and sentenced to...
, Israeli independence fighter - Jacob Israël de HaanJacob Israël de HaanJacob Israël de Haan was a Dutch Jewish literary writer and journalist who was assassinated in Jerusalem by the Jewish paramilitary organization Haganah for his anti-Zionist political activities and contacts with Arab leaders. He is believed to be the first victim of Zionist political violence...
, Dutch Jewish journalist assassinated by the HaganahHaganahHaganah 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 :... - Gavriel and Rivka HoltzbergGavriel HoltzbergGavriel Noach Holtzberg was an Orthodox rabbi and the Chabad emissary to Mumbai, India, where he and his wife Rivka ran the Mumbai Chabad House. He was also a religious leader and community builder for the local Jewish Indian community, and led the Friday-night Shabbat services at the Knesset...
, terror victims - Moshe HirschMoshe HirschMoshe Hirsch was the leader of the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta group in Jerusalem. He advised Yasser Arafat on Jewish affairs and visited him in Ramallah...
, leader of Neturei KartaNeturei KartaNeturei Karta is a Haredi Jewish group formally created in Jerusalem, British Mandate of Palestine, in 1938, splitting off from Agudas Yisroel... - Robert MaxwellRobert MaxwellIan Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
, Member of Parliament - Boedil ThurgotsdatterBoedil ThurgotsdatterBoedil Turgotsdotter was a medieval Danish queen, queen consort of King Eric I of Denmark.Bodil was the daughter of the Danish Earl Thrugot Fagerskind and sister of Svend Thrugotsen. Her grandfather, called Galicieulf in the Knytlinga Saga, was famous as a pilgrimager to Santiago de Compostela in...
, medieval Danish queen
External links
- the Mount of Olive in the "CITY of DAVID" Website
- Interactive Panoramas of the Mount of Olives – jerusalem360.com, GoJerusalem.com
- Jerusalem Photo Portal – Mount of Olives