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Rehavia or Rechavia ( he, רחביה, ar, رحافيا) is an upscale
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
neighborhood located between the city center and
Talbiya Talbiya or Talbiyeh ( ar, الطالبية, he, טלביה), officially Komemiyut, is an upscale neighborhood in Jerusalem, between Rehavia and Katamon. It was built in the 1920s and 1930s on land purchased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of ...
. Since its establishment in the 1920s, the area has always been associated with
German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
culture and tradition. The quarter remained an island of German culture and language long after the establishment of the State of
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 up to this day through the Schocken library (by late German-Jewish editor
Salman Schocken Salman Schocken or Shlomo Zalman Schocken ( he, שלמה זלמן שוקן) (October 30, 1877 August 6, 1959) was a German Jewish publisher, and co-founder of the large Kaufhaus Schocken chain of department stores in Germany. Stripped of his citi ...
), the largest and most significant collection of German books in the country, is to be found in the neighborhood.


Name

The suburb received its name from Eliezer Yellin, its first inhabitant and one of its early architects, and was named after
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
' grandson, "Rehavia", a name also transliterated as "Rehabiah" in biblical context ().


History

Rehavia was established on a large plot of land purchased in 1921 from the
Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...
by the
Palestine Land Development Company Israel Land Development Company (ILDC) ( he, הכשרת הישוב, Hachsharat HaYishuv) is one of Israel's largest conglomerates, with fields including real estate, construction, energy and hotels. It was acquired in 1987 by Yaakov Nimrodi. Hist ...
(PLDC) and the first house was completed in 1924. It was given the biblical name Rehavia. The area was known at the time by the Arab name of Ginzaria, a native Jerusalem plant, elsewhere spelled as Janjirieh. 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 ...
(JNF) bought the land and commissioned the German-Jewish architect
Richard Kauffmann Richard Kauffmann (1887–1958) was a German-Jewish architect who migrated to Palestine in 1920. His architecture was influenced by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a proponent of the International Style, and was applied to the local landscape, layin ...
to design a garden neighborhood.Inbal Ben-Asher Gitler
"Marrying Modern Progress with Treasured Antiquity": Jerusalem City Plans during the British Mandate, 1917-1948
in Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review, Vol. 15, No. 1 (FALL 2003), p. 47 (entire article: pp. 39-58), published by: International Association for the Study of Traditional Environments (IASTE)
Kauffmann, who spelled the name of his project as Janziriah, created a typical Garden City neighbourhood, with gardens surrounding the houses and an orderly, but not too strict grid of streets and footpaths set in relation to the main boulevard cutting through the area, thus avoiding an excessive sense of symmetry. For legal reasons the land had to be transferred back to the PLDC in exchange for lands in the
Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the he, עמק יזרעאל, translit. ''ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēʿl''), or Marj Ibn Amir ( ar, مرج ابن عامر), also known as the Valley of Megiddo, is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern Distr ...
, but the JNF retained some real-estate in the neighborhood. The
Gymnasia Rehavia Rehavia Gymnasium or the Jerusalem Rehavia Gymnasium, by its Hebrew name Gymnasia Rehavia ( he, גמנסיה רחביה, Gimnazya Rehavya), is a high school in the Rehavia neighborhood in West Jerusalem. History The high school's initial name wa ...
high school, Yeshurun Synagogue, and the
Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
building were built on this land, overlooking the Old City. Rehavia's general outline was modelled after the garden cities of Europe (especially Germany, e.g. the quarters of Dahlem or
Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...
in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
), while the architecture of the buildings shows an emphasis on the International Style popular at the time. The first phase, called Rehavia Aleph, was bordered by King George Street to the east, Ramban Street to the south,
Ussishkin Menachem Ussishkin (russian: Авраам Менахем Мендл Усышкин ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', he, מנחם אוסישקין) (August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the J ...
Street to the west, and
Keren Kayemet 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 subsequ ...
Street to the north. To preserve the quiet character, the neighborhood association allowed
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
businesses only on the two main roads at the neighborhood's edges. The roads open to traffic were deliberately built narrow, to keep them less busy and thus quieter. The main, tree-lined boulevard which bisected the neighborhood was open to pedestrian traffic only. Later expansion was primarily to the south, in the direction of
Gaza Street Gaza Street or Gaza Road ( he, דרך עזה - ''Derech Aza'') is a main street in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem. History The street is named ''Gaza Street'' because it was built on a part of the historical road from Jaffa Gate of the ...
. The
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
's official residence is " Aghion House", at No. 3 Balfour Street, on the corner with Smolenskin Street.


Demographics

When the Ethiopian emperor
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
was exiled from
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
in 1936, he lived for a short time on
Al-Harizi Yehuda Alharizi, also Judah ben Solomon Harizi or al-Harizi ( he, יהודה בן שלמה אלחריזי, ''Yehudah ben Shelomo al-Harizi'', ar, يحيا بن سليمان بن شاؤل أبو زكريا الحريزي اليهودي من أه ...
Street. Rehavia became known as a neighborhood of upper-class
Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
, home to professors and intellectuals, particularly émigrés from Germany. Many of the country's early leaders lived in Rehavia:
David Ben-Gurion David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
, Israel's first prime minister, who lived on Ben Maimon street; Zionist leader
Arthur Ruppin Arthur Ruppin (1 March 1876 – 1 January 1943) was a German Zionist proponent of pseudoscientific race theory and one of the founders of the city of Tel Aviv.Todd Samuel Presner, ’German Jewish Studies in the Digital Age:Remarks on Discipline ...
; Menachem Ussishkin, head of 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 ...
;
Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...
, Israel's fourth prime minister; Daniel Auster, the first Jewish mayor of Jerusalem, and philosophers
Hugo Bergmann Hugo Bergmann (Hebrew: שמואל הוגו ברגמן; December 25, 1883 – June 18, 1975) was an Israeli philosopher, born in Prague. Biography Hugo Samuel Bergmann was born and raised in Prague, Austria-Hungary. He was a member of the Pragu ...
and
Gershon Scholem Gershom Scholem () (5 December 1897 – 21 February 1982), was a German-born Israeli philosopher and historian. Widely regarded as the founder of modern academic study of the Kaballah, Scholem was appointed the first professor of Jewish Mystici ...
. Among the government ministers who made their home in Rehavia were
Dov Yosef Dov Yosef ( he, דב יוסף, 27 May 1899 – 7 January 1980) was an Israeli statesman. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, he was in charge of Jerusalem. He later held ministerial positions in nine Israeli governments. Biography Bernard Jose ...
and
Yosef Burg Shlomo Yosef Burg ( he, שלמה יוסף בורג, 31 January 1909 – 15 October 1999) was a German-born Israeli politician. In 1949, he was elected to the first Knesset, and served in many ministerial positions for the next 40 years. He was on ...
.


Landmarks

Landmark buildings in Rehavia include the headquarters of the Jewish Agency for Israel, the windmill on Ramban Street, and the
Ratisbonne Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
Monastery. Gymnasia Rehavia, the country's second modern high school (after
Gymnasia Herzliya The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium ( he, הַגִּימְנַסְיָה הָעִבְרִית הֶרְצְלִיָּה, ''HaGymnasia HaIvrit Herzliya'', Also known as ''Gymnasia Herzliya''), originally known as HaGymnasia HaIvrit (lit. Hebrew High Scho ...
in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
) was built on Keren Kayemet Street in 1928.
Yitzhak Ben Zvi Yitzhak Ben-Zvi ( he, יִצְחָק בֶּן־צְבִי‎ ''Yitshak Ben-Tsvi''; 24 November 188423 April 1963) was a historian, Labor Zionist leader and the longest-serving President of Israel. Biography Born in Poltava in the Russian Empir ...
, who was to become the second president of Israel, and his future wife,
Rachel Yanait Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi ( he, רחל ינאית בן-צבי; 1886 – 16 November 1979) was an Israeli author and educator, and a leading Labor Zionist. Ben-Zvi was the wife of the second President of Israel, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. Biography Rachel Yana ...
, were teachers there. In the center of historic Rehavia is Yad Ben-Zvi, a research institute established by Ben-Zvi.
Jason's Tomb Jason's Tomb (Hebrew: ''kever Yason'') is a rock-cut tombs, rock-cut tomb dating to the first century Common Era, BCE in the Hasmonean period, discovered in the Rehavia neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. It has been identified as the burial site ...
was discovered during construction work on Alfasi Street.


Street names

Most of Rehavia's streets are named after Jewish scholars and poets from the
Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain The golden age of Jewish culture in Spain, which coincided with the Middle Ages in Europe, was a period of Muslim rule during which, intermittently, Jews were generally accepted in society and Jewish religious, cultural, and economic life flou ...
. Among them are
Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
(Ben Maimon), Nachmanides (Ramban), Don Isaac Abarbanel, Abraham ibn Ezra,
Hasdai ibn Shaprut Hasdai (Abu Yusuf ben Yitzhak ben Ezra) ibn Shaprut ( he, חסדאי אבן שפרוט; ar, حسداي بن شبروط, Abu Yussuf ibn Shaprut) born about 915 at Jaén, Spain; died about 970 at Córdoba, Andalusia, was a Jewish scholar, ph ...
,
Isaac Alfasi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen (1013–1103) ( ar, إسحاق الفاسي, he, ר' יצחק אלפסי) - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of ...
, Rabbi David Kimhi (the Radak),
Yehuda Alharizi Yehuda Alharizi, also Judah ben Solomon Harizi or al-Harizi ( he, יהודה בן שלמה אלחריזי, ''Yehudah ben Shelomo al-Harizi'', ar, يحيا بن سليمان بن شاؤل أبو زكريا الحريزي اليهودي من أه ...
, Shlomo ibn Aderet (the Rashba),
Benjamin of Tudela Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli'';‎ Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...
, and Dunash ben Labrat. There are few exceptions, most notably Keren Kayemet Le'Israel (
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 ...
) Street and
Ussishkin Menachem Ussishkin (russian: Авраам Менахем Мендл Усышкин ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', he, מנחם אוסישקין) (August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born Zionist leader and head of the J ...
Street. In 1926, a street was named Keren Kayemet Le'Israel to honor the 25th year of the Jewish National Fund. In 1934, the Rehavia neighborhood council decided to change the name of this street to Rechov Ussishkin, and move Keren Kayemet Le'Israel Street to its present location.


Notable residents

*
Avraham Burg Avraham "Avrum" Burg ( he, אברהם בורג; born 19 January 1955) is an Israeli author, politician and businessman. He was a member of the Knesset, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Speaker of the Knesset, and Interim President of I ...
*
Eliezer Igra Eliezer Igra (born 1954/Hebrew calendar, 5714) is a rabbi, Dayan (rabbinic judge), dayan of the Upper Beit Din of Israel, the Av Beit Din of the Beersheba Beit Din, and the Moshav Rabbi of Kfar Maimon. Igra was a Religious Zionist candidate for Chi ...
*
Emanuel Feldman Emanuel Feldman (born August 26, 1927) is an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beth Jacob of Atlanta, Georgia. During his nearly 40 years as a congregational rabbi, he oversaw the growth of the Orthodox community in Atlanta ...
*
David Flusser David Flusser (Hebrew: דוד פלוסר; born 1917; died 2000) was an Israeli professor of Early Christianity and Judaism of the Second Temple Period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Biography David Flusser was born in Vienna on Septem ...
*
Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
,
Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...
*
Moshe Goshen-Gottstein Moshe Goshen-Gottstein (Hebrew: משה גושן-גוטשטיין) (6 September 1925 – 14 September 1991) was a German-born professor of Semitic linguistics and biblical philology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and director of the lex ...
*
Moshe Greenberg Moshe Greenberg (Hebrew: משה גרינברג; July 10, 1928 – May 15, 2010) was an American rabbi, Bible scholar, and professor emeritus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. BiographyErich Mendelsohn *
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...
(born 1949), Prime Minister *
Menachem Ussishkin Menachem Ussishkin (russian: Авраам Менахем Мендл Усышкин ''Avraham Menachem Mendel Ussishkin'', he, מנחם אוסישקין) (August 14, 1863 – October 2, 1941) was a Russian-born Zionism, Zionist leader and head ...
(1863-1941), Zionist leader and head of 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 ...
*
Berel Wein Berel Wein (born March 25, 1934) is an American-born Orthodox rabbi, lecturer and writer. He authored several books, in both Hebrew and English (the latter published by Artscroll), concerning Jewish history and popularized the subject through mor ...
, rabbi * Daphni Leef, activist *
Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( he, רְאוּבֵן "רוּבִי" רִיבְלִין ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the tenth president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. R ...
, President of Israel *
Robert Aumann Robert John Aumann (Hebrew name: , Yisrael Aumann; born June 8, 1930) is an Israeli-American mathematician, and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality in the Hebrew ...
, Nobel prize winner *
Miriam Naor Miriam Naor ( he, מרים נאור) (26 October 1947 – 24 January 2022) was an Israeli judge who was President of the Supreme Court of Israel from January 2015 to October 2017. Naor retired at the end of October 2017 upon reaching the mandat ...
, President of the Supreme Court of Israel


Gallery

ירושלים - חגיגת הנחת היסוד לשכונה החדשה ברחביה המורחבת הנבנת על אדמת הקק"ל.-JNF045228.jpeg, Laying of foundation stone at start of expansion of Rehavia, 1947 ירושלים - רחביה - מגרש קק"ל.-JNF043910.jpeg, Rehavia 1928 Hamosadot Haleumiyim Rehavia.JPG,
Jewish Agency The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
building, Rehavia Rehavia's Mill.JPG, Windmill on Ramban Street Beit Usishkin P8020025.JPG, Home of Menachem Ussishkin, Ramban Street


References


External links


Rehavia residents in J'lem take on developers changing character of neighborhood
{{Authority control Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Jerusalem German-Jewish culture in Jerusalem Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem Yekke