Abu Tor, also Abu Thor or ath-Thori, ( ar, أبو طور or الثوري, he, אבו תור; lit. Arabic meaning "Father of the Bull"; In Hebrew also called גבעת חנניה (Giv'at Hanania), lit. "

Hananiah Hananiah, Hanina, Chaninah, Haninah, Chananiah ( he, חנינא, חנניה) or Ananias ( grc-koi, Ἀνανίας) may refer to: Hebrew Bible * Hananiah ben Zerubbabel, (Old Testament: Chronicles) * Hananiah (aka Shadrach) of Shadrach, Meshach, a ...

's hill") is a mixed Jewish and Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem, built on an eminence south of the Old City.

Geography

Abu Tor is bounded by the Valley of Hinnom on the north, by the Valley of Azal (Wadi Yasul/Nahal Azal) on the south, Hebron Road and the old Jerusalem Railway Station to the west, and the Sherover Promenade,

Armon HaNetziv East Talpiot ( ''Talpiot Mizrach'') or Armon HaNetziv (ארמון הנְציב) is an Israeli settlement in southern East Jerusalem, established by Israel in 1973 on land captured in the Six-Day War and occupied since then. The international comm ...

and Peace Forest to the south. About Abu Tor - Har Refaim Synagogue, Abu Tor, Jerusalem The "official" Hebrew name of the neighborhood is ''Givat Hananya'' ("Hananya's Hill").Studies in Historical Geography and Biblical Historiography
Zecharia Kallai

Etymology

According to a traditional story, during the Ayyubid period after

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

captured Jerusalem in 1187, the area of Abu Tor was assigned by

Al-Aziz Uthman Al-Malik Al-Aziz Uthman ibn Salah Ad-Din Yusuf (1171 – 29 November 1198) was the second Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt. He was the second son of Saladin. Before his death, Saladin had divided his dominions amongst his kin: Al-Afdal received Palest ...

to an officer in Saladin's army.Moudjir ed-dyn, 1876, p
290
orig page 488, cited in Canaan, 1927, p
286
/ref> His name was Sheikh Shehab ed Din, but he was called "Sheikh Ahmed et Toreh" (Sheikh Ahmed of the bull) or "Abu Tor" (the man with the bull, or the father of the bull) as he was said to have accompanied Saladin riding on a bull.Palmer, 1881, p
318
/ref>Warren and Conder, 1884, p
397
/ref>

Location

The hill on which Abu Tor stands was called "Jebel Deir Abu Tor" (mountain of the monastery of Abu Tor), or the "Hill of Evil Counsel", referring to a legend that it was the site of the house of

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famous ...

, where

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betr ...

plotted to betray Jesus. A monastery or convent dedicated to St. Mark (whose emblem was an ox) may have once been there.Canaan, 1927, p
287
/ref>

History

Late Ottoman period

Abu Tor was developed as a residential quarter in the late 19th century by Muslim and Christian Arabs from Jerusalem. A Jewish neighborhood called Beit Yosef was established in 1888.

British Mandate

Abu Tor was incorporated into the Jerusalem municipal district during the British Mandate period.

Israel

From the establishment 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 ...

in 1948 until 1967, the border between Israel and

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

ran through Abu Tor. The first four roads beyond Hebron Road were Israeli and the remaining roads were Jordanian. In January 1949, Israel and Jordan, represented by Moshe Dayan and Abdullah el-Tell, held talks on the status of Jerusalem. Dayan presented the partition of Jerusalem as a common interest, and offered an exchange of territories that included the military post in Abu Tor, but his offer was turned down.

Demography

Abu Tor is one of the few Jerusalem neighborhoods with a mixed Arab and Jewish population. Due to its mixed population, many journalists, diplomats and United Nations employees choose to live there. While the Jewish section of Abu Tor is predominantly secular, the neighborhood has two synagogues - Har Refaim Synagogue for

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 ...

on Nachshon Street, and Shalom V'Achva Synagogue for

Sephardi 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 ...

. Abu Tor had a population of 15,500 in 2010.

Urban development

A large multiplex cinema, the Sherover complex, is located in Abu Tor. The center, just off Hebron Road, houses seven movie theaters, coffee shops and restaurants, an auditorium, a library, classrooms and art galleries. The complex, which began operating in 2015, also screens films on the Sabbath.

References

Bibliography

* (p
432
* * (p
100
* * * *

External links

*Survey of Western Palestine, Map 17
IAAWikimedia commons
{{coord, 31, 45, 49.1, N, 35, 13, 57.5, E, display=title Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem