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

Geula Geula ( lit. ''Redemption'') is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, populated mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Mea Shearim on t ...

in central

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, founded in 1855. It is bounded by Malkhei Yisrael Street, 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, the Bishop Gobat school, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, and the Russian Compound.

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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 thro ...

in Ottoman

, and his wife Elizabeth Anne Finn. 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. Although there are many forms of f ...

'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'' (, meaning ''distribution'') was an organized collection and distribution of charity funds for Jewish residents of the Land of Israel (the Holy Land). General method of op ...

'' welfare distribution.''Men in black''
JUF News, Jewish United Fund (JUF

/ref> 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. According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe initially settled in the hill lands bordering Tribe of Ephraim, Ephraim and Tribe of Benjamin, Benjamin on the ...

.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. House in Keren Avraham

After Finn's death, a soap-making factory was established by his widow and high quality

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

soap was produced which was sold locally and exported abroad. The soap was made from olive oil fat mixed with

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...

, 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 obtain ...

), which grew in the Jordan valley. The soap production became the most widely known industry which took place at the compound.

20th century

Israeli novelist

Amos Oz Amos Oz (; 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 onwards, Oz was a pro ...

grew up in Kerem Avraham in the 1940s.

21st century

Most of the residents of Kerem Avraham today are

Haredi Haredi Judaism (, ) is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted (Jewish law) and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are ...

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 Populated places established in 1855 1855 establishments in the Ottoman Empire