Beit HaKerem, Jerusalem

For other uses, see Beit HaKerem.

Beit HaKerem, view from east

Beit HaKerem (Template:Lang-he, 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 Yefeh Nof 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.

British mandate

Beit HaKerem, c. 1925

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.

Since 1948

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.

Education

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

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.

Demographics

Beit HaKerem has expanded with the rest of Jerusalem and today boasts a population of 15,000, mostly secular. Housing prices have escalated as Beit HaKerem has maintained its desirability amongst people who want to live in a non-Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Economy

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

Transportation

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.

Notable residents

• Menachem Begin
• Benjamin Netanyahu
• Nir Barkat
• Alice Shalvi