Beit HaKerem, Jerusalem

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Beit HaKerem, view from east

Beit HaKerem (Hebrew: בית הכרם‎) is a largely secular upscale neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem, Israel.[1] It is located between Kiryat Moshe to the northwest and Bayit VeGan to the south. Beit HaKerem has a population of 15,000.[2]

History

Beit HaKerem, c. 1925

Remnants from the First Temple, Second Temple, Byzantine and Mamluk periods were discovered in a dig on HaSatat Street in 2006.[3] It is named for the biblical city of Beit Hakerem near Jerusalem[4] mentioned in Jeremiah 6:1 and Nehemiah 3:14.

The neighborhood was founded in 1922 as one of six garden cities developed in Jerusalem during the days of the British Mandate for Palestine.[5] Beit HaKerem was planned by Ricard Kaufmann, an architect notable for his Bauhaus style, and was at the time separated from the rest of the city by large swaths of undeveloped land.[6] Beit Hakerem has continued to maintain its 'green' character. According to local lore, the name "Beit HaKerem" is a Hebrew acronym for teacher, clerk, and author, reflecting the middle-class population of the early years.

In the 1960s and 1970s, many university professors and students sought housing in Beit Hakerem due to its proximity to the Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University, built when the Mount Scopus campus was cut off from Jerusalem in 1948.[7]

Housing prices have escalated as Beit HaKerem has maintained its desirability amongst people who want to live in a non-Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem.[8]

Education

David Yellin Teachers College

The neighborhood has 25 kindergartens, four elementary schools and three high schools considered among the most prestigious in Jerusalem.[9] David Yellin College of Education, established in 1913, is located in Beit HaKerem.[10]

Parks and monuments

Historic homes in Beit HaKerem

Gan Ha'esrim park in Beit Hakerem (Park of the Twenty) commemorates 20 residents who died in Israel's War of Independence. Denmark Square (Kikar Denya) honors the Danish people for rescuing 90 percent of its Jewish population during the Holocaust. The monument in the square is shaped like a boat, recalling the boats on which Jews were smuggled to Sweden.[11]

Transportation

The Jerusalem Light Rail, which began service in late 2011, passes through Beit HaKerem and has several stops there, providing convenient transportation to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station as well as to downtown Jerusalem.

Notable residents

Yehoram Gaon
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beit HaKerem. 
 Dr. Karnit Flug ...President Bank Of Israel (October 2013--)

References

  1. ↑ Riding Out the Storm
  2. ↑ Jerusalem neighborhoods
  3. ↑ Israel Antiquities Authority - Articles
  4. ↑ Carta's Official Guide to Israel and Complete Gazetteer to all Sites in the Holy Land. (3rd edition 1993) Jerusalem, Carta, p.233 , ISBN 965-220-186-3 (English)
  5. ↑ British Mandate:Garden suburbs
  6. ↑ Jerusalem and its Environs:Quarters, Neighborhoods, Villages, Ruth Kark
  7. ↑ The Way They Were, In Jerusalem, Jerusalem Post
  8. ↑ Beit Hakerem - The last secular holdout in Jerusalem - Haaretz - Israel News
  9. ↑ The Way They Were, In Jerusalem, Jerusalem Post
  10. ↑ David Yellin College of Education
  11. ↑ Parshat Va-eira 5764 - Aloh Na'aleh - OU.ORG
  12. ↑ An interview with Alice Shalvi
Neighborhoods of Jerusalem
Jerusalem neighborhoods east of the 1949 armistice line are depicted in green, those west of the line in blue (see Green Line).
Old City
Central Neighborhoods
Northern Neighborhoods
Eastern Neighborhoods
Southern Neighborhoods
Western Neighborhoods
Historical Neighborhoods

Coordinates: 31°46′44″N 35°11′24″E / 31.77889°N 35.19000°E / 31.77889; 35.19000

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