Nachlaot

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View of Nachlaot from the bridge next to the Supreme Court
View of Nachlaot from the bridge next to the Supreme Court

Nachlaot (Hebrew: נחלאות, also Nahlaot) is a cluster of small Jewish neighborhoods in central Jerusalem, Israel. They were established outside the walls of the Old City from the late 1860s as conditions there became overcrowded and unsanitary.

Street in Nachlaot
Street in Nachlaot

An important landmark in Nachlaot is the Mahane Yehuda market. Mazkeret Moshe, originally an Ashkenazi quarter, was built by Sir Moses Montefiore in 1882. Adjoining it is a Sephardi neighborhood, Ohel Moshe, where former Israeli president Yitzhak Navon grew up. Ohel Moshe was the inspiration for Navon's play, Bustan Sephardi (Sephardi Orchard). The Banai family, many of whose members have become well-known actors and singers, lived in Nachlaot.[1]

A Jewish building society built another neighborhood, Mishkenot Yisrael in 1875. Rabbi Aryeh Levin, known as the "prisoners' rabbi" for his visits to members of the Jewish underground imprisoned in the Russian Compound, lived in Mishkenot Yisrael. The name comes from a biblical verse (Numbers 24:5): "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob/Thy dwellings, O Israel."

A Syrian Jewish community was established in 1900. The Ades Synagogue was completed in 1901.

In the wake of gentrification projects in the area, housing prices have risen steeply. Nachlaot is known for its narrow, winding lanes, old style housing, hidden courtyards and an abundance of small synagogues.





[edit] Notable residents

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