Motza Illit ( he, מוֹצָא עִלִּית, מוצא עילית, ''lit.'' Upper Motza) is a

community settlement A community settlement ( he, יישוב קהילתי, ''Yishuv Kehilati'') is a type of village in Israel and the West Bank. While in an ordinary town anyone may buy property, in a community settlement the village's residents are organized in ...

in central Israel. Motza Illit is located on a picturesque slope overlooking the Jerusalem Mountains, Ein Karem, the Motza Valley and

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

. Motza Illit is part of the

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Mateh Yehuda Regional Council ( he, מועצה אזורית מטה יהודה, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda'', ar, مجلس إقليمي ماتيه يهودا ) is a regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2008 it was home to 3 ...

. In it had a population of residents.

History

Settlement in the area goes back to ancient times, with thousands of year old terraces and archeological remains in the area. In 1929, old

Motza Motza, also Mozah or Motsa, ( he, מוֹצָא, ar, موتسا) is a neighbourhood on the western edge of West Jerusalem. It is located in the Judean Hills, 600 metres above sea level, connected to Jerusalem by the Jerusalem–Tel Aviv highway ...

was attacked by its Arab neighbors and many residents were murdered. Four years later (in 1933), a new

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

, Motza Ilit, was established at a higher location on the same slope. In January 1934, a house-warming party was held by twenty Jewish families who had built homes in Motza Illit with the aid of the

Jewish National Council The Jewish National Council (JNC; he, ועד לאומי, ''Va'ad Le'umi''), also known as the Jewish People's Council was the main national executive organ of the Assembly of Representatives of the Jewish community (Yishuv) within Mandatory Pale ...

("Va'ad Leumi") and emergency funds.Upper Motza Families Celebrate Settlement of New Jewish Workers
/ref> Motza Illit overlooks the

Judean mountains The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel wh ...

, the churches and monasteries of

Ein Karem ar, عين كارم , settlement_type = Neighborhood of Jerusalem , image_skyline = Ein Karem IMG 0624.JPG , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = View of Ein Karem , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_ ...

, the

Beit Zayit Beit Zayit ( he, בֵּית זַיִת, , House of Olives) is a moshav in Israel. Located just outside the Jerusalem municipal border to the west, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

water reservoir and the

Jerusalem Forest The Jerusalem Forest is a municipal pine forest located in the Judean Mountains on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It is surrounded by the neighborhoods of Beit HaKerem, Yefe Nof, Ein Kerem, Har Nof and Givat Shaul, and a moshav, Beit Zeit. The fo ...

. It has three secular kindergartens. Elementary school children study at the Ein Harim Elementary School near the Beit Zayit water reservoir. For secondary school, Motza Illit's children study at a range of local secondary schools (Ein Karem Secondary School) and in Jerusalem (University Secondary School, Boyer, Science and Arts Secondary School, Academy for Music and Dance and more).

Notable residents

David Kaminsky David Kaminsky (דוד קמינסקי; born January 8, 1938) is an Israeli former basketball player and coach. He played the guard position. Kaminsky played in the Israel Basketball Premier League, and for the Israel national basketball team. Bi ...

(born 1938), basketball player and coach *

Ehud Olmert Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...

Anna Ticho Anna Ticho (; 27 October 1894 – 1 March 1980) was an Israeli artist who became famous for her drawings of the Jerusalem hills. Beit Ticho, the house in Jerusalem that she shared with her husband is now a branch of the Israel Museum and a caf� ...

Gallery

File:7 sisters.jpg, Seven Sisters Road, 1948 File:Seven Sisters Road Moza Illit.jpg, Seven Sisters Road to Motza Illit, 2010 File:Moza Illit.jpg, Street in Motza Illit

References

{{Authority control Community settlements Former moshavim Populated places established in 1933 Populated places in Jerusalem District 1933 establishments in Mandatory Palestine