Even as the tempests of world politics storm and rage around us, the Psalmist’s vision of Jerusalem “united together” continues to materialize before our eyes.
Just this past week, a cross-generational bridge was built between Jews from the Yemeni exile who resettled the long-desolate Jewish Land in the late 19th century and Jews born in the newly-blooming Jewish Land of the early 21st century.
It happened when a group of Jewish families and yeshiva students festively moved into a large building just east of the Old City, thus renewing the Jewish presence there that was interrupted several decades ago by Arab violence and British indifference.
The once-again Jewish property is actually quite a fair-sized building located in the old Yemenite Hekdesh community, overlooking the City of David and the Old City, and with a commanding view of the Temple Mount. The building is now called Beit Rachel, in close proximity to the other Jewish buildings in the old Yemenite Village: Beit HaDvash, Beit Yehonatan, Beit Frumkin, and Beit Ovadia.
The six apartments in Beit Rachel now house Jewish families. An Arab family renting out the bottom floor is expected to leave within a few months.
Amid the intense and ongoing efforts by organizations such as KeepJerusalem and others toward a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, it sometimes passes under the radar that events such as the entry into Beit Rachel are precisely what we’re working for. Every renewal of Jewish presence in the Holy City, every neighborhood that was originally Jewish, then Arab, and now Jewish again brings us another step closer to our ultimate goal: The Jewish people in full control of all of their holy city.
Yes, there are those who fear to aim too high. Some Jews actually favor dividing Jerusalem again. “Let the Arabs have their neighborhoods,” they say. “Draw a line between us and them, and we’ll keep our side, they’ll keep theirs.”
It is precisely this train of thought, however, that encourages the periodic waves of Arab violence that hit our capital. It also weakens Israel’s control even over the parts of Jerusalem that all agree we must retain. Strengthening these areas, especially those that were historically Jewish, helps consolidate a united Jerusalem on the ground.
If we do not believe and act as if Jerusalem is ours – all of it, including parts that are currently hard to access safely because of the threatening Arab presence there – it erodes the inner and essential national strength so highly praised at these critical times.
Our capital was not arbitrarily chosen, as was Washington, D.C. – selected for its in-between location, outside any of the original 13 colonies. Yerushalayim was chosen for its national history, religious sanctity, and inherent importance. The same is true, of course, for the entire Land of Israel – and our claims to both rely and are based on our profound and unshakeable perception of this truth.
Furthermore, shaking off problematic areas has never worked, and has even proven to be downright dangerous. Consider just these two examples, among many”
In 1967, immediately after the Six-Day War, Moshe Dayan gave away the keys to the Temple Mount. Up to this very day, that holiest of sites has been a source of Arab national strength and confidence, while Jews are not even allowed to pray there.
Ten years ago, Ariel Sharon assured us that our “disengagement” from Gaza would improve Israel’s security. This promise has been blown to smithereens by the thousands of rockets that have since been fired at Israel, as well as the thriving Hamas-Hizbullah-Iran connections that threaten to bring us a new southern neighbor threatening our existence.
Running away from problems does not solve them but meeting them head-on actually does. We have many reasons to celebrate the old-new Jewish presence in a neighborhood that is currently predominantly Arab. Keep in mind that the first Yemenite Jews arrived in Jerusalem all the way back in 1882 – before a single Arab ever lived in that area. We are accustomed to picturing Silwan and the City of David as a densely-populated Arab district, but old photos show that when the Jews first moved in, it was a pristine, open area.
The Ateret Cohanim settlement organization provides important background information on this latest happy development. The Kfar HaTeimanim neighborhood of Shiloach was founded in the 1880s by Jews from Yemen; over 140 families lived there at its peak. The Arab pogroms of the 1920s and ‘30s directly targeted the community. In August 1938, it reached the point that the British Authorities felt compelled to remove, or deport, the last remaining Yemenite Jewish families who had managed to survive until then.
The British high commissioner gave written assurances that the Jewish refugees would be allowed to return “shortly” to their homes. This never happened, and the Jewish village was decimated by Arabs who either destroyed or squatted in the Jewish property.
It was only in 2004, after much research, financial investments, and help from Ateret Cohanim that the first few Jewish families returned to live in Kfar HaTeimanim in Shiloach. They first moved into Beit Yehonatan (dedicated to Jonathan Pollard) and Beit Hadvash, and then into Beit Ovadia and Beit Frumkin.
One of the few buildings that remained whole was the neighborhood’s original synagogue, Beit Knesset Ohel Shlomo, built in 1885 in the Yemenite Hekdesh (Consecrated Yemenite Communal property). One section of the main building was redeemed several months ago, and a small room there now serves as the local synagogue. Court-ordered eviction notices have been issued to the Arab families squatting elsewhere in this holy Jewish site, and it is hoped that the remaining parts of the original Yemenite Synagogue will very soon be returned to the rightful Jewish heirs.
Not unexpectedly, the families in the old-new Yemenite village have been subjected to ongoing daily Arab attacks. These include Molotov cocktails, stones, and paint bottles thrown at the buildings and at the security vehicle that takes the families to and from their homes.
And so, encouraged by our successes, the efforts continue.
To help advocate for a strong, united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, please visit our Keep Jerusalem-Im Eshkachech website at www.keepjerusalem.org or e-mail [email protected] for information on our bus tours in news-making areas of Jerusalem.