"Jerusalem of the West" was a term historically used by Jews to describe a non-Jewish city west of

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

where the

Jewish diaspora The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of th ...

nonetheless enjoyed significant influence, freedom (of religion), and numbers, usually in Western Europe or

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

. Possibly its most persistent use was that of the Jews of Amsterdam.

Applications

Amsterdam

In Europe,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

was commonly associated with the term and was called ''Jeruzalem van het Westen'' in Dutch.

Sephardic Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

first settled there in the 17th-century and in 1672, there were an estimated 7,500 Jews living in the city. Holland had a reputation of hospitality and tolerance which was rare in Europe at the time. It was "the first city in Europe where Jews were free from persecution and where they enjoyed religious liberty, ample economic opportunities and social equality." The epithet signalled that the Jews felt comfortable in the city. Prior to the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

, there were about 80,000 Jews living in Amsterdam.

Tlemcen

In Northern Africa,

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

was called "Jerusalem of the West". In the 15th-century, the town was considered a major Jewish spiritual centre.

André Chouraqui Nathan André Chouraqui (; 11 August 1917 – 9 July 2007) was a French- Algerian-Israeli lawyer, writer, scholar and politician. Early life Chouraqui was born in Aïn Témouchent, Algeria. His parents, Isaac Chouraqui and Meleha Meyer, both de ...

believed that there was a genuine geographical correspondence between the town and Jerusalem. He wrote: "We were living our dream in the midst of the beautiful countryside of the

. Tlemcen...resembles the city of David in altitude, climate, fauna and flora, to such an extent that we called in the Jerusalem of the Maghreb."

Other

Prior to World War II—Vilnius, Lithuania was known as the Jerusalem of the North. Other towns given the appellation include ToledoJoshua D. Zimmerman (2004). ''Poles, Jews, and the politics of nationality''. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 16. . and Antwerp. Many others towns in northern Africa were also called symbolically after Jerusalem: Ghardaia,

M'zab The M'zab or Mzab ( Mozabite: ''Aghlan'', ar, مزاب) is a natural region of the northern Sahara Desert in Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. It is located south of Algiers and there are approximately 360,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate). Geolog ...

(Second Jerusalem),

Djerba Djerba (; ar, جربة, Jirba, ; it, Meninge, Girba), also transliterated as Jerba or Jarbah, is a Tunisian island and the largest island of North Africa at , in the Gulf of Gabès, off the coast of Tunisia. It had a population of 139,544 ...

, Tunisia (Ante-chamber of Jerusalem, Jerusalem of Africa),

Ifrane Ifrane ( Berber: ⵉⴼⵔⴰⵏ; ar, إفران) is a city in the Middle Atlas region of northern Morocco (population 14,659 as of November 2014). The capital of Ifrane Province in the region of Fès-Meknès, Ifrane is located at an elevation of ...

, Morocco (Little Jerusalem).Marie-Noëlle Bourguet, Lucette Valensi, Nathan Wachtel
Between memory and history, Volume 2
Taylor & Francis, 1990. pg. 81. .

References

{{reflist City nicknames Historic Jewish communities

Applications

Amsterdam

Tlemcen

Other

See also

References