Nayot ( he, נָיוֹת) is a neighborhood in south-central Jerusalem established in 1960 by a group of English-speaking immigrants.''A holy hill becomes home from home''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

Magazine, Anglo File, December 24, 1999

Etymology

The name ''Nayot'' (lit. "oases") appears six times in the Bible, in

I Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshu ...

(I Samuel 19:18).''Batei Tzioney America'', Kol Ha'ir, Ruth Yovel, July 3, 1987 (Hebrew)

History

Nayot was the first housing project in Jerusalem built by Anglo immigrants to Israel. Until an official name was announced in 1963, it was known as ''Hashikun Ha'anglo Saxi'' (the Anglo-Saxon neighborhood). English-speaking immigrants seeking housing in the 1950s formed a committee in 1957, and leased 16 dunams of land from the

Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...

below the hill where the

Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

and the Knesset are located today, which was outside the boundaries of Jerusalem at the time. Of the first 62 semi-detached homes built in 1960, fifty were purchased by families who immigrated to Israel from the United States and Canada. Many of the first tenants were diplomats, among them Simcha Dinitz. The architect was

David Resnick David Resnick ( he, דוד רזניק; August 5, 1924 – November 4, 2012) was a Brazilian-born Israeli architect and town planner whose awards include the Israel Prize in architecture

, who won the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for architecture in 1995. The committee also set up a mortgage fund, which was unknown in Israel in those days. Fundraising in the United States brought in $100,000, and the Israeli government matched the sum, creating a fund of $200,000.

Landmarks

The

Jerusalem Botanical Gardens The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens (JBG), originally planned as successor to the National Botanic Garden of Israel on Mount Scopus which, nevertheless, still exists as a separate entity, is located in the neighborhood of Nayot in Jerusalem, on th ...

is located in Nayot.Gems in Israel: The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens

Notable residents

Shimon Agranat Shimon Agranat ( he, שמעון אגרנט; September 5, 1906 – August 10, 1992) was an Israeli jurist and the third President of the Supreme Court of Israel, from 1965 until 1976. Biography Agranat was born to a Jewish-Zionist family in Louisv ...

''Batei Tzioney America'', Kol Ha'ir, Ruth Yovel, July 3, 1987 (Hebrew) *

Eliyahu Lankin Eliyahu Lankin ( he, אליהו לנקין, 25 September 1914 – 10 August 1994) was a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist activist, Irgun member and an Israeli politician. Biography Eliyahu Lankin was born in Gomel, and moved with his fami ...

''Batei Tzioney America'', Kol Ha'ir, Ruth Yovel, July 3, 1987 (Hebrew)

References

{{coord, 31, 46, 4.77, N, 35, 12, 10.48, E, display=title Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem