Gaza Street or Gaza Road ( he, דרך עזה - ''Derech Aza'') is a main street in the

Rehavia Rehavia or Rechavia ( he, רחביה, ar, رحافيا) is an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood located between the city center and Talbiya. Since its establishment in the 1920s, the area has always been associated with German-Jewish culture and ...

neighborhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

History

The street is named ''Gaza Street'' because it was built on a part of the historical road from Jaffa Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem to the south

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

coast, including Gaza City. During the first half of the twentieth century, most of the street's residents were wealthy

German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

(e.g., minister

Yosef Burg Shlomo Yosef Burg ( he, שלמה יוסף בורג, 31 January 1909 – 15 October 1999) was a German-born Israeli politician. In 1949, he was elected to the first Knesset, and served in many ministerial positions for the next 40 years. He was on ...

), who kept up their European lifestyle and language even calling the street "Gaza Straße". Thus, the name of the intersection of Gaza and Rabbi

Chaim Berlin Chaim Berlin (1832, Valozhyn – 1912, Jerusalem) (חיים ברלין) was an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbi and chief rabbi of Moscow from 1865 to 1889. He was the eldest son of the Netziv, Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin. Biography Cha ...

streets, "Gaza-Berlin Corner", becoming a slang term describing the neighborhood's population.

Landmarks

Aside from being important for commuting, it holds its own commercial and cultural value. The official residence of Israel's prime minister is located on Balfour Street, which leads off Gaza Street, and therefore demonstrations often take place at the Paris Square across from the official residence. In 2007, the square was symbolically renamed the "Freedom for

Jonathan Pollard Jonathan Jay Pollard (born August 7, 1954) is a former intelligence analyst for the United States government. In 1987, as part of a plea agreement, Pollard pleaded guilty to spying for and providing top-secret classified information to Israel. H ...

Square". Gaza Street begins at the intersection of Paris Square, King George, Keren HaYesod and Rambam streets, and it spans until the intersection with Rabbi

Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog ( he, יצחק אייזיק הלוי הרצוג; 3 December 1888 – 25 July 1959), also known as Isaac Herzog or Hertzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasted from 1921 to 1936. From 1936 until his deat ...

Avenue next to the Valley of the Cross ("Emeq HaMatzleva") and the

Monastery of the Cross The Monastery of the Cross ( ar, دير الصليب, ''Dayr al-Salīb''; he, מנזר המצלבה; ka, ჯვრის მონასტერი, ''jvris monast'eri'') is an Eastern Orthodox monastery near the Nayot Nayot ( he, נָיו� ...

. There are many cafés, restaurants and other commercial activity on the street.

Architecture

Most of Gaza Street's buildings are designed in the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

style common to the neighborhood and are faced with

Jerusalem stone Jerusalem stone (Hebrew: אבן ירושלמית; Arabic: حجر القدس) is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, dolomite and dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been used in building since ancient tim ...

. Most are apartment buildings, no taller than four floors and featuring

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

In March 2002, a suicide bomber struck Café Moment, located on the street, killing eleven people. Another attack by a Palestinian suicide bomber two years after killed eleven and injured over 50 people on a bus.

References

{{coord, 31.7721, N, 35.2137, E, source:wikidata, display=title Streets in Jerusalem Rehavia