Abu Tor

Abu Tor (Arabic: أبو طور or الثوري‎ , Hebrew: אבו תור‎) (lit. "Father of the Bull") is a mixed Jewish and Arab neighborhood in central Jerusalem, Israel, south of the Old City. Abu Tor is bounded by the Valley of Hinnom on the north, Hebron Road and the old Jerusalem Railway Station to the west, and the Sherover Promenade, Armon HaNetziv and Peace Forest to the south.[1] The official Hebrew name of the neighborhood is Givat Hananya ("Hananya's Hill").[2]

History

During the Ayyubid period, the area of Abu Tor was assigned to an officer in Saladin's army.[3] His name was Sheikh Shehab ed Din el Mukaddasi but he was called "Sheikh Ahmed et Toreh" (Sheikh Ahmed of the bull) or "Abu Tor" (the man with the bull, or the father of the bull) as he was said to have accompanied Saladin riding on a bull.[4][5]

The hill on which Abu Tor stands was called "Jebel Deir Abu Tor" (mountain of the monastery of Abu Tor), or the "Hill of Evil Council", referring to a legend that it was the site of the house of Caiaphas, where Judas plotted to betray Jesus.[5] A monastery or convent dedicated to St. Mark (whose emblem was an ox) may have once been there.[5][6]

Abu Tor was developed as a residential quarter in the late 19th century by Muslim and Christian Arabs from Jerusalem.[7] A Jewish neighborhood called Beit Yosef was established in 1888.[7]

Abu Tor was incorporated into the Jerusalem municipal district during the Mandate period.[8]

From the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 until 1967, the border between Israel and Jordan ran through Abu Tor. [9]The first four roads beyond Hebron Road were Israeli and the remaining roads were Jordanian.[1] In January 1949, Israel and Jordan, represented by Moshe Dayan and Abdullah el Tell, held talks on the status of Jerusalem. Dayan presented the partition of Jerusalem as a common interest, and offered an exchange of territories that included the military post in Abu Tor, but his offer was turned down.[10]

Demography

Abu Tor is one of the few Jerusalem neighborhoods with a mixed Arab and Jewish population. Many journalists and United Nations employees live there.[11] While the Jewish section of Abu Tor is predominantly secular, the neighborhood has two synagogues - Har Refaim Synagogue for Ashkenazi Jews on Nachshon Street,[12] and Shalom V'Achva Synagogue for Sephardi Jews.

References

  1. ^ a b [http://www.harrefaim.com/abutor.html About Abu Tor - Har Refaim Synagogue, Abu Tor, Jerusalem
  2. ^ Studies in Historical Geography and Biblical Historiography by Zecharia Kallai
  3. ^ Ruth Kark and Shimon Landman (1980). "The establishment of Muslim neighbourhoods in Jerusalem, outside the old city, during the late Ottoman period". Palestine Exploration Quarterly 112: 113–135. 
  4. ^ E. H. Palmer (1881). The Survey of Western Palestine. Arabic and English name lists. London: The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 318. 
  5. ^ a b c C. Warren and C. R. Conder (1884). The Survey of Western Palestine. Jerusalem. London: The Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. p. 397. 
  6. ^ Tewfik Canaan (1927). Mohammedan Saints and Sanctuaries in Palestine. Jerusalem: Ariel Publishing House. p. 287. 
  7. ^ a b A. Arnon (1992). "The Quarters of Jerusalem in the Ottoman Period". Middle Eastern Studies 28: 1–65. 
  8. ^ Ruth Kark and Michal Oren-Nordheim (1996). "Colonial cities in Palestine? Jerusalem under the British Mandate". Israel Affairs 3: 50–94. 
  9. ^ Neighbors if not friends
  10. ^ Jerusalem: A city and its future, Marshall J. Berger and Ora Ahimeir
  11. ^ NJ.com: Special Projects
  12. ^ http://www.harrefaim.com Har Refaim Synagogue - Abu Tor, Jerusalem
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