French Hill

French Hill ( _he. הגבעה הצרפתית, "HaGiv'a HaTzarfatit"), also Giv'at Shapira ( _he. גִּבְעַת שַׁפִּירָא) ( _ar. Karm el-Wiz)http://www.jstor.org/pss/1356442] is a predominantly Jewish neighborhood located in north-central Jerusalem. It is located on territory captured during the Six-Day War in 1967, later annexed by Israel under the Jerusalem Law in 1980.

Etymology

The source of the name French Hill is unclear. It may be named after a British General, John French, 1st Earl of Ypres who, according to legend, had his headquarters on this hill. However, French never served in this region [http://www.worldwar1.com/bioefre.htm] , [http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/french.htm] , so this theory appears inaccurate.

According to Israeli geographer Zev Vilnay, the land belonged to the Catholic Monastery of St. Anne, whose monks hailed mainly from France. [ "The Guide to Israel" Zev Vilnay, Hamakor Press, Jerusalem, 1972, p.130] . Thus the Hebrew name, "Hagivah HaTsarfatit," which means "the hill of the French" appears accurate.

Had the basis for the name been General French, correct name in Hebrew would be "Givat French" (proper names aren't translated, and Tzarfat is France in Hebrew) or "French's Hill" [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A2116784 BBC - h2g2 - French Hill, Jerusalem ] ] .

History

Under Jordanian rule, the area was a military outpost. [http://www.givathatachmosht.org.il/english/aboutammunitionhil4.htm] In 1969, after the unification of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, construction began on a new residential neighborhood to create a land link between West Jerusalem and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus, which had been an Israeli enclave in Jordanian territory before the war. [ [http://www.meforum.org/article/343 Understanding Jerusalem - Middle East Quarterly ] ] The official name of the new neighborhood was "Givat Shapira." Another section of French Hill, Tzameret HaBira, was populated mainly by American immigrants, who built private homes there. ["Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2002-2003". Jerusalem, Israel: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. ISSN 0333-9831]

Demographics

According to the Arab historian Walid Khalidi, there were a few Arabs from Lifta living in the area prior to 1967. He says they moved there after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. [Walid Khalidi "All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948". Washington DC: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1992] French Hill now has a population of 6,631. French Hill (Givat Shapira) has a population density of 10.9 persons per dunam (10,900 people/km²), while Tzameret HaBira is less crowded, with 4.7 persons per dunam (4,700 people/km²). The population is mostly Jewish, including a large number of Jews from South America and the former Soviet Union. ["Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2002-2003" Jerusalem, Israel: Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. ISSN 0333-9831]

chools and religious institutions

French Hill has 9 synagogues. One of them, Kehillat Ramot Zion ( _he. קהילת רמות ציון) [Kehillat Ramot Zion http://www.ramot-zion.org/] , is a Conservative congregation. The first elementary school in Israel run by the Conservative movement, the Frankel School, was established in Givat Shapira.

Arab-Israeli conflict

The French Hill intersection which connects northern Jerusalem to Maale Adumim and the Dead Sea has been the site of eleven Palestinian terror attacks. According to an article by the "US News and World Report", "the busy thoroughfare, which divides the Jewish neighborhood of French Hill from the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat, is the most accessible corner in the city for a West Bank terrorist looking for a crowd of Israelis." [Jerusalem's Violent Crossroads http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/030609/9mideast.b.htm]

Archaeology

A salvage dig in French Hill in 1970-1971 unearthed late Hellenistic and Herodian tombs. One of the 13 ossuaries discovered was inscribed with the name "Yehosef (Joseph) ben Haggai."

ee also

* East Jerusalem

References