Kerem Avraham, in English Abraham's Vineyard, is a neighbourhood near

Geula Geula ( he, גאולה lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on ...

in central

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

, founded in 1855. It is bounded by

Malkhei Yisrael Street Malkhei Yisrael Street ( he, רחוב מלכי ישראל, ''Rechov Malkhei Yisrael'', lit. "Kings of Israel Street"), also spelled Malchei Yisrael, is an east-west street in the Geula neighborhood of north-central Jerusalem. Its eastern flank, whi ...

, Yechezkel Street, Tzefanya Street, and the Schneller Compound. The 1855 mission house was one of the first structures to be built outside the Old City of Jerusalem; the others are the

Schneller Orphanage Schneller Orphanage, also called the Syrian Orphanage, was a German Protestant orphanage that operated in Jerusalem from 1860 to 1940. It was one of the first structures to be built outside the Old City of Jerusalem – the others being Kerem Av ...

, the Bishop Gobat school, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, 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 ...

History

19th century

Abraham's Vineyard, the future Kerem Avraham, was established by James Finn,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in Ottoman

, and his wife

Elizabeth Anne Finn Elizabeth Anne Finn (1825–1921) was a British writer and the wife of James Finn, British Consul in Jerusalem, in Ottoman Palestine between 1846 and 1863. She and her daughter co-founded the Distressed Gentlefolk's Aid Association, the predec ...

. Finn was a devout Christian, who belonged to the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but who did not engage in missionary work during his years in Jerusalem. In 1852, Finn purchased Karm al-Khalil (lit. "the

friend Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

's vineyard", meaning "Abraham's Vineyard"), a 10-acre plot of barren land outside the walls of the Old City. There he established "The Industrial Plantation for Employment of Jews in Jerusalem" to train Jews in agriculture and other trades so they could become self-supporting, rather than relying on the ''

halukka The ''halukka'', also spelled ''haluka'', ''halukkah'' or ''chalukah'' ( he, חלוקה) was an organized collection and distribution of charity funds for Jewish residents of the Land of Israel (the Holy Land). General method of operation Sy ...

'' welfare distribution.''Men in black''
JUF News,

Jewish United Fund The Jewish United Fund of Chicago (JUF) is the central philanthropic address of Chicago's Jewish community and one of the largest not-for-profit social welfare institutions in Illinois. JUF provides critical resources that bring food, refuge, hea ...

(JUF) The manager was a Christian named Dunn who believed he was a descendant of the

tribe of Dan The Tribe of Dan (, "Judge") was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the Torah. They were allocated a coastal portion of land when the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, later moving northwards. Biblical narrative In th ...

.Lewis, Ari
''History of Kerem Avraham''
Jewish Magazine, January 2008, accessed February 2021. Finn employed Jewish laborers to build the first house there in 1855 and cisterns for water storage were built. After Finn's death, a soap-making factory was established by his widow and high quality kosher soap was produced which was sold locally and exported abroad. The soap was made from olive oil fat mixed with alkali, sourced from the ashes of the ''kali'' plant (

barilla ''Barilla'' refers to several species of salt-tolerant (halophyte) plants that, until the 19th century, were the primary source of soda ash and hence of sodium carbonate. The word "barilla" was also used directly to refer to the soda ash obtained ...

), which grew in the

Jordan valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

. The soap production became the most widely known industry which took place at the compound.

20th century

Israeli novelist

Amos Oz Amos Oz ( he, עמוס עוז; born Amos Klausner; 4 May 1939 – 28 December 2018) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist, and intellectual. He was also a professor of Hebrew literature at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. From 1967 onw ...

grew up in Kerem Avraham in the 1940s.

21st century

Most of the residents of Kerem Avraham today are

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

References

{{coord, 31, 47, 24, N, 35, 13, 2, E, display=title Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem Orthodox Jewish communities in Jerusalem 1850s establishments in Ottoman Syria