Beit HaKerem (neighbourhood)

Beit HaKerem ( _he. בית הכרם, "House of the Vineyard") is an affluent neighborhood in west-central Jerusalem, Israel. To the northwest is the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood, and to the south Mt. Herzl and the Sha'arei Tzedek Medical Center. The Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University is located to the east, while the Yefeh Nof neighborhood and the Jerusalem Forest lie to the west.

History

Ancient times

Excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority in Beit HaKerem indicate that it was a desirable location in antiquity. Remnants from the First Temple, Second Temple, Byzantine and Mamluk periods were discovered in a dig on HaSatat Street in 2006. [ [http://www.antiquities.org.il/article_Item_eng.asp?sec_id=25&subj_id=240&id=1140&module_id=#as Israel Antiquities Authority - Articles ] ]

British mandate

The neighborhood was founded in 1922 as one of six garden neighborhoods developed in Jerusalem during the days of the British Mandate for Palestine. Beit HaKerem was planned by Ricard Kaufman, 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. 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.

Parks and monuments

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 80 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. [ [http://www.ou.org/torah/tt/5764/beshalach64/chosen.htm Parshat Va-eira 5764 - Aloh Na'aleh - OU.ORG ] ]

Today

Beit HaKerem has expanded with the rest of Jerusalem and today boasts a population of 15,000. While there is still a majority of secular residents, many religiously observant people live there and maintain religious-communal institutions. Housing prices have escalated with the rest of Jerusalem as Beit HaKerem has maintained its desirability amongst people who want to live in a non Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/956197.html Beit Hakerem - The last secular holdout in Jerusalem - Haaretz - Israel News ] ]

At the end of 2006, a new shopping mall was completed in Givat Beit Hakerem, competing with the long-serving centre in Kikar Denya.

The new Jerusalem Light Rail will go directly from Beit HaKerem to the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, the center of the city and the Old City, replacing the buses that currently traverse the main thoroughfare, Herzl Boulevard. It is scheduled to commence operation in April of 2010.

References

Notable residents

*Menachem Begin
*Benjamin Netanyahu