Musrara ( ar, مصرارة, he, מוסררה, also known by its Hebrew name, Morasha, ) is a neighborhood in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. It is bordered by
Meah Shearim
Mea Shearim ( he, מאה שערים, lit., "hundred gates"; contextually, "a hundred fold") is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem outside of the Old City. It is populated by Haredi Jews, and was built by members of the Old Yish ...
and
Beit Yisrael
Beit Yisrael ( he, בית ישראל, literal translation, lit. ) is a predominantly Haredi Judaism, Haredi neighborhood in central Jerusalem. It is located just north of Mea Shearim on Ha-Rav Zonenfeld St 13.
The name Beit Yisrael is taken from ...
on the north, the
Old City on the south,
Bab a-Zahara
Bab az-Zahra ( ar, باب الزاهرة) is an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem, north of the Old City. It is bordered by the American Colony to the north, Wadi al-Joz to the east, Herod's Gate and Damascus Gate on its south, and Mas'udiyya ...
to the east, and the
Russian Compound
The Russian Compound ( he, מִגְרַשׁ הָרוּסִים, ''Migraš ha-Rusim'', ar, المسكوبية, ''al-Muskubīya'', russian: Русское подворье в Иерусалиме) is one of the oldest districts in central Jer ...
and
Kikar Safra
The talent was a unit of weight that was introduced in Mesopotamia at the end of the 4th millennium BC, and was normalized at the end of the 3rd millennium during the Akkadian-Sumer phase, divided into 60 minas or 3,600 shekels. In classical antiq ...
to the west.
History
Musrara was founded by
upper class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
Christian Palestinians residents during the late 19th century, as a part of the "
departure from the walls", during which people began living outside the Old City of Jerusalem.
During the
1947–1949 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...
, the Palestinian residents fled during the fighting or were expelled and not permitted to return to their homes. Musrara remained on the Israeli side of the
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
between
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
.
[Jerusalem Municipality - Morasha neighborhood]
/ref>
During the early days of Israeli statehood, there was an extreme shortage of housing for the thousands of Jewish immigrants who flooded to Jerusalem. As a result, the Ministry of Housing decided to populate the Palestinian houses with new immigrants from North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
n countries. Due to its proximity to the new border, the residents of Musrara were exposed to daily attacks from Jordanian sniper
A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
s stationed along the border, who did their utmost to disrupt the lives of the residents. This new reality became routine until the reunification of Jerusalem
The Israeli annexation of East Jerusalem, known to Israelis as the reunification of Jerusalem, refers to the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War, and its annexation.
Jerusalem was envisaged as a separate, internati ...
after the Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
in 1967.
In 1971, young, second-generation Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews ( he, יהודי המִזְרָח), also known as ''Mizrahim'' () or ''Mizrachi'' () and alternatively referred to as Oriental Jews or ''Edot HaMizrach'' (, ), are a grouping of Jewish communities comprising those who remained i ...
from the neighborhood founded the Israeli Black Panthers
The Black Panthers ( he, הפנתרים השחורים, translit. ''HaPanterim HaShkhorim'') were an Israeli protest movement of second-generation Jewish immigrants from North Africa and Middle Eastern countries. It was one of the first organiz ...
, a protest movement against the perceived injustice and discrimination by the government against them. The rage quickly spread from Musrara to all areas inhabited by poor Mizrahi Jews, and eventually evolved into a political movement.
Musrara's strategic location between the Haredi
Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...
and religious neighborhoods to the north and the secular neighborhoods to the west has contributed to its diverse population. Over the last decade some have advocated to prevent the neighborhood from becoming more Hareidi, a process which has since slowed considerably.
Today, Musrara is home to about 4,500 people.
Architecture
Musrara's built environment is a living testimony to its diversity – and that of Jerusalem in general – over the past 130 years. Examples of the various styles of architecture
Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...
popular during this period can be found there. They can be divided into three general periods:
The first phase was the Arab phase, in which large, luxurious mansions were built by wealthy Arabs attempting to escape the overcrowding in the Old City during the late 19th century. These houses have grand entrances, beautiful masonry and shingled roofs.
The second phase began with the War of Independence. In the ensuing upheaval and unsettled conditions that arose along the unpeaceful new border with Jordan, houses were abandoned and new residents struggled. The neighborhood scene was one of unemployment, poverty and neglect. Conditions contributed to the rise of the Israeli Black Panther movement among new ''olim'' (Jewish immigrants) from North Africa. This phase lasted through the 1970s.
The third period, beginning in the 1980s, saw increased activity as a result of a Jerusalem Municipality
The Jerusalem Municipality ( he, עיריית ירושלים; Iriyat yerushalayim), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem.
History
British Mandate ...
program to improve the neighborhood's appearance. Development regulations were adopted that were intended to restore the neighborhood's former glory. Renovations were subsequently completed in the style of the historic Arab structures. In many buildings, though, a clear line can be seen between lower floors, built in the historic Arab style, and upper storeys built in the unadorned functional style of modern multistorey buildings. These lines reflect the decisions of real estate developers who, in the interest of cost savings, did not want to maintain the more expensive style of traditional facades on upper levels.
Art and culture
Musrara is now a center of the arts, home to the Naggar Multidisciplinary School of Art and Society also known as "Musrara", the Eastern Music Center, the Jerusalem Municipality's art center, and Polis - the Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities.
Since 2009, the "Muslala" group, composed of artists, creators and residents of the neighborhood, has been developing art routes: different artist are invited to create site-specific interventions in the neighborhood public space, and the public is invited to follow in their steps, using maps that are distributed for free. The group also started the Musrara community garden.
Notable residents
*Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ar, سرحان بشارة سرحان ''Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān'', born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian Jordanian man who was convicted for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Kennedy, a United States Sena ...
, assassin of Senator Robert F. Kennedy
*Reuven Abergel
Reuven Abergel ( he, ראובן אברג'ל, ar, رَؤوبين أبيرجل; born December 26, 1943) is a Moroccans, Moroccan-Israelis, Israeli social and political activist and a co-founder and former leader of the Black Panthers (Israel), Is ...
, one of the founders of the Israeli Black Panthers
The Black Panthers ( he, הפנתרים השחורים, translit. ''HaPanterim HaShkhorim'') were an Israeli protest movement of second-generation Jewish immigrants from North Africa and Middle Eastern countries. It was one of the first organiz ...
See also
*Expansion of Jerusalem in the 19th century
The expansion of Jerusalem in the 19th century, also referred to as the departure from the walls, was the process of building new residences outside of the Old City walls, and shifting the city center to the new neighborhoods. The process started ...
*Kirya Ne'emana
Kirya Ne'emana ( he, קִרְיָה נֶאֱמָנָה, "Faithful City"), commonly known as Batei Nissan Bak ( he, בתי ניסן בק, "Nissan Beck Houses") was a historical Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic Jewish neighborhood established opposite Damasc ...
, a Jewish neighbourhood within Musrara quarter
References
External links
Musrara Neighborhood Tour on Ynet.com (Hebrew)
Muslala project map for printing (English)
Musrara School of Art
Musrara School of Art - English version
Polis, The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities
{{coord, 31, 46, 57, N, 35, 13, 32, E, display=title
Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem