Givat HaMivtar

Givat Hamivtar, seen from north

Givat HaMivtar (Hebrew: גִּבְעַת הַמִּבְתָּר) is a neighborhood in Jerusalem^[1] 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. Givat Hamivtar was one of the first "Build Your Own Home" neighborhoods in Jerusalem.^[2] The international community considers Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.^[3]

History

The hill on which Givat Hamivtar was established was the site of a Jordanian fort, one of a series of military installations blocking Jewish access to Mount Scopus and cutting off Hadassah Hospital, the Hebrew University, and the National Library of Israel from West Jerusalem.^[4] The Jordanians called itTal al-Mudura, lit. "round hill."^[5] Jordanian snipers used this strategic location to fire on Israeli troops during the Battle of Ammunition Hill. Givat HaMivtar was conquered by an Israeli tank force after two attempts. The first mission failed after an Israeli soldier was killed by friendly fire.^[6][7]

The Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Hamivtar was planned as part of a sequence of Jewish neighborhoods called the bariah or "hinge" neighborhoods^[2][8] connecting west Jerusalem to Mount Scopus. The name of the neighborhood means "bissected hill," either referring to the crisscross of Jordan bunkers that existed before the neighborhood was built,^[8] or the earthworks cutting through Mount Scopus to create a road from Jerusalem's Old City to Nablus.^[9][10]

In July 1967, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol ordered government clerks to bypass the ordinary procedures to allow for Givat HaMivtar and the other hinge neighborhoods to be built as quickly as possible. When purchasing land encountered difficulties, some tracts were expropriated.^[2] To speed up the building process, land was subsidized by the government.^[2] Most of the homes in Givat HaMivtar were privately built. The majority of the homes were two-family homes, originally one-story high, to which a second and often a third floor was added over time.

Archaeology

Numerous archeological digs have been carried out in Givat HaMivtar.^[11] Sepulchers discovered in the course of the digs were determined to be Jewish tombs of the Second Temple period. One yielded the only physical evidence for the Roman custom of crucifixion found to date.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} These were the remains of a person called Jehohanan Ben Khagqol, and they included a heel bone with a nail driven through it from the side. The tip of the nail was bent, perhaps because of striking a knot in the upright beam, which prevented it being extracted from the foot.

Another tomb, highly ornate, held the remains of the family of Simon Bana Hekhalah, probably a builder of the Temple, as his name indicates.^[17][18]

A third archaeologically interesting tomb on Givat HaMivtar is that of Abbah Bar Kahana (Aramaic: Abbah son of the priest). In the tomb prepared for his family, Abbah Bar Kahana secretly placed the body of Matatya Ben Yehuda, who had been exiled to Babylon and brought back to Jerusalem for burial.^[19][20][21] Some historians believe Matatya Ben Yehuda was Antigonus II Mattathias, the exiled heir of Judea kingdom.^[18]‏^[22]

Services

Sephardi synagogue

Ashkenazi synagogue

Givat HaMivtar has only preschools and kindergartens. The elementary schools of Ramat Eshkol were built on the border between the two neighborhoods in order to serve them both. High schools are located on French Hill and Ma'allot Dafna.^[2]

The first synagogue in Givat HaMivtar was unique in that prayer services followed a non-specific nusach so that Jews of all ethnic groups could pray there.^[23] In the first decade of this millennium, many of the neighborhood's secular and Modern Orthodox residents have moved out, and ultra-Orthodox Jews have become a majority.^[24]

Since the mid-1980s, there is a Makuya center in the neighborhood.^[25]

Notable residents

Jerusalem Light Rail Red Line
Legend 'Heil Ha-Avir (Air Force Street) Sayeret Duchifat Pisgat Ze'ev Center Yekuti'el Adam Beit Hanina Shuafat Es-Sahl To depot Giv'at HaMivtar Ammunition Hill Shimon HaTzadik Shivtei Israel Damascus Gate Safra Square (City Hall) Jaffa – Center Ha-Davidka Mahane Yehuda Ha-Turim Central Station Kiryat Moshe He-'Haluts Denia Square Yefeh Nof Mount Herzl

• Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
• Joshua Matza
• Lilit Nagar
• Adir Zik
• Gilad Atzmon
• Shlomo Amar

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Giv'at HaMivtar.

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 Armenian Quarter Christian Quarter Muristan Jewish Quarter Muslim Quarter Bab al-Huta Central Neighborhoods Arzei HaBira Batei Ungarin Beit David Beit Ya'akov Beit Yisrael Bukharim Downtown Triangle Geula Givat HaVradim Givat Ram Katamon Kerem Avraham Kiryat HaLeom Kiryat HaMemshala Kiryat Shmuel Kiryat Shomrei Emunim Kiryat Wolfson Ma'alot Dafna Mahane Israel Mahane Yehuda Mazkeret Moshe Mea Shearim Mekor Baruch Mishkenot Sha'ananim Mount Zion Musrara Nahalat Shiv'a Nachlaot Nayot Neve Granot Neve Sha'anan Rehavia Romema Rova Mevo Ha'ir Russian Compound Sha'arei Hesed Shmuel HaNavi Talbiya Yemin Moshe Zikhron Moshe Zikhron Yosef Northern Neighborhoods Al-Ram Beit Hanina Ezrat Torah French Hill Givat HaMivtar Har Hotzvim Kafr 'Aqab Kiryat Belz Kiryat Mattersdorf Kiryat Sanz Mount Scopus Neve Yaakov Pisgat Ze'ev Ramat Eshkol Ramat Shlomo Ramot Ramot Polin Sanhedria Sanhedria Murhevet Shikun Chabad Shuafat Tel Arza Unsdorf Eastern Neighborhoods American Colony Al Bustan Al-Issawiya At-Tur Bab a-Zahara Ir David Jabel Mukaber Kiryat Menachem Begin Ma'ale ha-Zeitim Nachalat Shimon Nof Zion Ras al-Amud Sheikh Jarrah Shimon HaTzadik Silwan Wadi al-Joz Southern Neighborhoods Abu Tor Arnona Baka Beit Safafa East Talpiot German Colony Gilo Givat HaMatos Givat Oranim Givat Massuah Greek colony Har Homa Katamonim Malha Mekor Chaim Pat Ramat Rachel San Simon Sharafat Sur Baher Talpiot Umm Tuba Western Neighborhoods Bayit VeGan Beit HaKerem Ein Karem Givat Beit HaKerem Givat Shaul Givat Mordechai Har Nof Ir Ganim Kiryat HaYovel Kiryat Menachem Kiryat Moshe Motza Ramat Beit HaKerem Ramat Denya Ramat Sharett Yefeh Nof Historical Neighborhoods Atarot Batei Munkacs Batei Saidoff Ezrat Yisrael Kirya Ne'emana Knesset Yisrael Lifta Mamilla Moroccan Quarter Ohel Shlomo Sha'arei Yerushalayim Sheikh Badr See also: Ring Neighborhoods

Coordinates: 31°48′11.01″N 35°13′52.63″E / 31.8030583°N 35.2312861°E / 31.8030583; 35.2312861