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Har Nof

Coordinates: 31°47′05″N 35°10′30″E / 31.78472°N 35.17500°E / 31.78472; 35.17500
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Har Nof
הר נוף‎
Neighborhood of Jerusalem
Aerial view of Har Nof, 2023
Aerial view of Har Nof, 2023
Map
Country Israel
DistrictJerusalem District
CityJerusalem
Population
 • Total
20,000

Har Nof (Hebrew: הר נוף, lit. 'Scenic Mountain') is a neighborhood on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem with a population of 20,000 residents, predominantly Orthodox Jews.[1]

History

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In Talmudic times, Har Nof was an agricultural settlement that served Jerusalem. Remains of ancient wine presses, farmhouses, and terraces built 1,500 years ago have been unearthed on the outskirts of Har Nof.[2]

The entrance to the Boston Shul in Har Nof.

The neighbourhood, originally designated for young couples and both secular and religious homebuyers, was established in the 1980s on and near the ruins of the Palestinian village of Deir Yassin, whose residents had fled. The name of the neighbourhood was chosen in 1979 following a public competition in which the public was invited to suggest names.[3] Construction began in 1980 under the design of architect Ze'ev Sheinberg.[4] In 1983, the Jerusalem Municipality initiated the construction of public institutions in the neighbourhood, including classrooms and kindergartens.[5] However, the neighbourhood’s occupancy was delayed due to prolonged work on connecting it to the electricity grid, paving roads, and developing public spaces.[6] In 1984, the Bostoner Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz, decided to establish a center in Har Nof in Jerusalem, which was instrumental in building up the neighbourhood's Orthodox community.[7]

The neighbourhood began to be populated in 1985 as a mixed community of secular, religious, and ultra-Orthodox residents. In 1988, a residential building under construction collapsed, and after a municipal inspection, two additional buildings were declared dangerous due to structural defects.[8]

Dati Leumi synagogue, Har Nof

In 1989, conflicts broke out between Haredi and secular residents over the Haredi demand to close the neighbourhood’s streets to vehicular traffic on Shabbat.[9] Over time, the neighbourhood became a stronghold of the Shas party,[10] especially after Aryeh Deri,[11] his brother Rabbi Yehuda Deri,[12] and later Rabbi Ovadia Yosef moved there.[13] As a result, the neighbourhood underwent a process of increasing Haredi dominance. In 2002, the Maor Yisrael association, led by Ovadia Yosef’s son Moshe, built a yeshiva and dormitory on a 70-dunam plot in the neighbourhood,[14] along with 200 housing units.[15]

Pi Glilot Fuel Terminal
Orot Hateshuvah Yeshiva.
Bet Midrash lehalacha behityashvut.

In 1998, plans were initiated to expand the neighbourhood southward by relocating the Pi Glilot fuel terminal and developing the land, including parts of the Jerusalem Forest.[16] The terminal, built in the late 1960s, supplied fuel to the Jerusalem area through an underground pipeline from Pi Glilot in northern Tel Aviv. In 2001, the Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee recommended approving a plan for 1,000 high-density housing units and relocating the fuel facilities underground in the nearby Nahal Revida.[17] However, in 2007, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee decided not to rezone the land for residential use until a replacement site for the fuel terminal was found.[18] In 2009, Delek Group, which had purchased Pi Glilot, sought to vacate the terminal and sell the land for 200 million sheqels, but the site remained in operation.[19] Since 2018, the Israel Land Authority has been promoting a new plan for the area, including 2,300 housing units on 648 dunams, partly at the expense of the Jerusalem Forest.[20]

In 2014, a plan was approved for a light rail branch line to the neighbourhood, approximately 2 km long, running from Ben Dor Junction on Herzl Boulevard along Kanfei Nesharim Street to the Har Nof transport terminal.[21] Initially planned as a branch of the Jerusalem Light Rail’s Red Line, it was later integrated into the Green Line plan.

In 2022, Highway 16 opened, making an additional entrance to Jerusalem connecting the Motza Interchange on Highway 1 to Har Nof through a 1.5 km tunnel. The neighbourhood is linked to the highway via the Nahal Revida Interchange.[22]

In October 2019, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion announced the renaming of Har Nof to "Neot Yosef" in memory of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.[23] However, in July 2020, the municipality decided to abandon the renaming plan after receiving approximately 1,200 objections.[24]

Geography

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Steps in Har Nof

Har Nof is a terraced neighborhood on the slopes of a mountain that sits 813 meters (2667 feet) above sea level. Due to the topography, many of the multi-storey apartment buildings have entrances on both sides of the building – one to reach the lower floors, and another to reach the higher floors. Some streets are connected by long flights of stairs.[25] At the foot of Har Nof lies the 1,200 dunam Jerusalem Forest (Yaar Yerushalayim), planted in the 1950s as a green lung around the city.[26]

Demography

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Neve Yerushalayim academy for women

The majority of the residents of Har Nof are Orthodox Jews, both Haredi and Dati Leumi.[25] Many residents are olim (immigrants). The neighborhood has a large community of English-speaking olim, and notable French-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities. There are also communities of Ger and Vizhnitz Hasidim, as well many Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews. The former Sefardic chief rabbi and leader of the Shas party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, lived in Har Nof. Spiritual leaders of the Ashkenazi Haredi community who reside in Har Nof are Rabbi Moishe Sternbuch of the Edah HaChareidis; the Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Mayer Alter Horowitz of Congregation Givat Pinchas (The Boston Shul); Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld, Rosh Yeshiva of Har Nof's Machon Yaakov and Machon Shlomo yeshivas; and Rabbi Yitzchak Mordechai Rubin of Kehilat Bnei Torah.[27]

Synagogues and public institutions

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Orot Hatshuva study hall in Har Nof

Rabbi David Yosef is the head of the Yachveh Da'at Kollel[28] and the chief rabbi of Har Nof.[29] Har Nof has a large number of synagogues, yeshivas, and Torah study institutions, among them are: Imrei Shefer, Boston Shul, Kehilat Zichron Yosef, Heichal Hatorah, Yeshiva Pachad Yitzchok, Machon Shlomo, Yeshivat Lev Aharon, and Machon Yaakov. The campuses of Neve Yerushalayim and She'arim College of Jewish Studies for Women are located in Har Nof,[30] as is Yechaveh Da'at, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's synagogue and spiritual headquarters.[31]

On 18 November 2014, an attack occurred at the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue. Two Arab terrorists from East Jerusalem entered the synagogue with knives, a meat cleaver, and a pistol, inflicting heavy wounds on their victims who were at morning prayers, killing five and injuring eight - four of them seriously. In the ensuing gun battle, the two attackers were shot dead, and one of the policemen who attended the scene, a Druze, later died of his wounds.[32][33][34][35]

Transportation

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The neighborhood is linked to the city center by Kanfei Nesharim and Beit Hadfus Streets, with a number of bus lines providing public transportation.

Communal activism

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The residents of Har Nof founded Shomera, a non-profit environmental protection association to thwart the building of high-rise luxury towers that would block the view of the Jerusalem Forest.[1] Emergency medical care in Har Nof is provided by the volunteer group Hachovesh.[36] Em Habanim is a volunteer organization founded in 1995 by Malka Yarom, a Har Nof resident who opened her home to religious divorcees who had nowhere to take their children on the Sabbath.[37] The organization now has a membership of 300, and offers support to single-parent families in the Orthodox Jewish sector.[37]

Notable people

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References

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  1. ^ a b Downhill at Har Nof – Haaretz – Israel News
  2. ^ Parshat Vayaqhel-P'kudei 5764 – Aloh Na'aleh – OU.ORG
  3. ^ [1] Dir Yasin Yuk, Davar, 26 December 1979.
  4. ^ Akiva Alder, [2] Until where will the built Jerusalem extend?, Haaretz, 21 April 2005.
  5. ^ [3] 50 million sheqel to build classrooms in Har Nof, Davar, 17 April 1983.
  6. ^ [4] The suffering lane to Har Nof, Maariv, 6 January 1984.
  7. ^ HaAretz Article Dec 11, 2009
  8. ^ Aryeh Bender, [5] It's not nice to wake up and see that the house you bought with your money can fall on your head, Maariv, 24 January 1988.
  9. ^ Yosef Levi, [6] Haredim and secular people fought on Saturday night in Har Nof, Maariv, August 13, 1989.
  10. ^ [7] Shas requests a discussion about the events in Har Nof, Maariv, 28 August 1989.
  11. ^ [8] Deri receives a loan of 235 thousand dollars to buy his house, Maariv, 25 October 1990.
  12. ^ [9] Suspisions of financial irregularities in Yehuda Deri's organisation, Maariv, 24 August 1990.
  13. ^ Yoel Yitzhak, [10] Eli Yishai is working to help Rabbi Ovadia and his son to buy the land in Har Nof without a tender, Globes, 20 February 2001.
  14. ^ Gal Nissim, [11] The attorney general is investigating the behaviour of the city regarding the building of Rabbi Ovadia's house, Globes, 11 May 2003.
  15. ^ [12] Residents of Har Nof will participate in the planning of the Haredi neighbourhood, Haaretz, 26 January 2002.
  16. ^ Noa Wasserman, [13], Plan to move the Pi Gililot building out of Har Nof, Globes, 19 May 1998.
  17. ^ Dalia Tal, [14] Pi Gelilot will move to Nahal Revida, Globes, 25 February 2001.
  18. ^ Lior Bron, [15] The value of Pi Gelilot might go down, Globes, 22 April 2007.
  19. ^ Michal Margalit and Lior Bron, [16] Fuel is in negotiation for selling the land in Pi Gelilot for 200 million sheqel, Globes, 29 September 2009.
  20. ^ Nir Hason, [17] The State is planning a Haredi neighbourhood at the expense of parts of the Jerusalem forest, Haaretz, 27 November 2018.
  21. ^ [18] Plan 9700 Jerusalem.
  22. ^ "Route 16 is inaugurated, serving as a new entrance to Jerusalem". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
  23. ^ Tal Netanel-Nuriel, [19] After 40 years: The name of the Har Nof neighbourhood will be changed to "Neot Yosef", Kol hair, 31 October 2019.
  24. ^ Shlomi Heller, [20] The storm surroung the name change for Har Nof, Kol hair, 13 February 2020.
  25. ^ a b "Oops! The page you were looking for doesn't exist, please retry | GoJerusalem".
  26. ^ sustainable Jerusalem[usurped]
  27. ^ Kehilat Bnei Torah
  28. ^ Ettinger, Yair (January 22, 2012). "Scandal in Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's Family Rocks Shas". Haaretz. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  29. ^ "Rav David Yosef Shlita Will Not Run in Jerusalem Race". Yeshiva World News. October 8, 2014. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  30. ^ Neve Yerushalyim College Archived 2007-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ Besser, Yisroel (January 5, 2011). "A Crown Restored". Mishpacha. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  32. ^ Eisenbud, Daniel K.; Siegel-Itzkovich, Judy; Keinon, Herb (November 18, 2014). "Four Killed, Others Hurt in Terror Attack at Jerusalem Synagogue". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  33. ^ Dvir, Noam (November 18, 2014). "Four people killed in terror attack at Jerusalem synagogue". YNet News. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  34. ^ Benari, Elad (November 18, 2014). "Death Toll in Jerusalem Attack Rises to 5". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  35. ^ Rudoren, Jodi; Kershner, Isabel (November 18, 2014). "Israel Shaken by 5 Deaths in Synagogue Assault". The New York Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  36. ^ Emergency medical care
  37. ^ a b Em Habanim organization
  38. ^ Schiller, Ariella (27 December 2022). "Back at the Wheel". Mishpacha. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  39. ^ מחיר השלום [The Price of Peace]. Mishpacha (in Hebrew). No. 1354. April 26, 2018. p. 4.
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31°47′05″N 35°10′30″E / 31.78472°N 35.17500°E / 31.78472; 35.17500

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