The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives is the oldest and most important Jewish cemetery in

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

. It is approximately five centuries old, having been first leased from the

Jerusalem Islamic Waqf The Department of the Jerusalem Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs, together with its board the Islamic Awqaf Council, is the Jordanian-appointed organization responsible for controlling and managing the current Islamic edifices on the Temple Moun ...

in the sixteenth century.har hazetim – The Jewish Cemetery
"from the 16th century the cemetery began to take its present shape" The cemetery contains anywhere between 70,000 and 150,000 tombs, including the tombs of famous figures in early modern

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

. It is considered to be the largest and holiest Jewish cemetery on earth. It is adjacent to the much older archaeological site known as the

Silwan necropolis The Silwan necropolis is the remains of a rock-cut cemetery assumed to have been used by the highest-ranking officials residing in Jerusalem. Its tombs were cut between the 9th and 7th centuries BCE.Jewish cemeteries in

, since they were the last meeting place not only of Jerusalemites but also of Jews from all over the world. Over the years, many Jews in their old age came to Jerusalem in order to live out the rest of their lives there and to be buried in its holy soil.Ben-Arieh, Yehoshua. (1986). Jerusalem in the 19th century: Emergence of The new city, pages 24-25 The desire to be buried on the

Mount of Olives The Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet ( he, הַר הַזֵּיתִים, Har ha-Zeitim; ar, جبل الزيتون, Jabal az-Zaytūn; both lit. 'Mount of Olives'; in Arabic also , , 'the Mountain') is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to Jeru ...

stemmed in part from the '' Segulaic'' advantages attributed to the burial, according to various sources. During the First and Second Temple Periods, the Jews of Jerusalem were buried in burial caves scattered on the slopes of the Mount, and from the 16th century the cemetery began to take its present shape. The old Jewish cemetery sprawled over the slopes of the Mount of Olives overlooking the

Kidron Valley The Kidron Valley ( classical transliteration, ''Cedron'', from he, נחל קדרון, ''Naḥal Qidron'', literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is the valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separate ...

(Valley of Jehoshaphat), radiating out from the lower, ancient part, which preserved Jewish graves from the Second Temple period; here there had been a tradition of burial uninterrupted for thousands of years. The cemetery was quite close to the Old City, its chief merit being that it lay just across the Kidron Valley from the

Temple Mount The Temple Mount ( hbo, הַר הַבַּיִת, translit=Har haBayīt, label=Hebrew, lit=Mount of the House f the Holy}), also known as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), al-Aqsa Mosque compou ...

: according to a

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

, it is here that the Resurrection of the Dead would begin. The

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

will appear on the Mount of Olives, and head toward the Temple Mount. As the sages say: "In the days to come, the righteous will appear and rise in Jerusalem, as it is said, "And they will sprout out of the city like the grass of the field" – and there is no city but Jerusalem".

Jordanian rule

During the

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 ...

ian rule, the Jewish cemetery suffered damage to

gravestones A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

and

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s. Between 1949 and 1967, Israel accused the Jordanians of not protecting the site. As early as the end of 1949, Israeli viewers stationed on Mount Zion reported that Arab residents had been uprooting some tombstones. In 1954, the Israeli government filed a formal complaint with the UN General Assembly regarding the further destruction of graves and plowing in the area. Israel also stated that in the late 1950s the Jordanian army used tombstones to build a

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

in nearby

al-Eizariya Bethany ( grc-gre, Βηθανία,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā'') or what is locally known as Al-Eizariya or al-Azariya ( ar, العيزرية, " laceof Lazarus"), is a Palestinian town in the West ...

to floor

tents A tent () is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over, attached to a frame of poles or a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using gu ...

and

toilets A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popul ...

, and that some tombstones were transferred to the courtyard of the Citadel of David, where they were smashed and fragments of which were used as markers for the parade ground. Israel also claimed that when new roads were built – one to the new Hotel Inter-Continental Jerusalem ("Seven Arches") on top of the Mount of Olives, one extending the road to Jericho, and one expanding the access road to the village of

Silwan Silwan or Siloam ( ar, سلوان, translit=Silwan; gr, Σιλωὰμ, translit=Siloam; he, כְּפַר הַשִּׁילוֹחַ, translit=''Kfar ha-Shiloaḥ'') is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, on the outskir ...

– numerous graves were destroyed in the process. Shortly after 1967, these claims escalated into a war of words between Zerah Warhaftig, the Israeli Minister of Religious Affairs, and the Franciscan priest and

Custodian of the Holy Land , native_name_lang = Latin , named_after= , image = Coat_of_arms_of_the_Custodian_of_the_Holy_Land.jpg , image_size = 200px , alt= , caption = Coat of arms of the Custody of the Holy Land , map ...

Father Isaias Andrès.

Israeli rule

Jerusalem Mount of Olives BW 2010-09-20 07-57-31

In 1992, with the burial of

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 i ...

Menachem Begin on the Mount of Olives, it was decided to establish a dedicated security company for the cemetery, and to increase the protection of visitors to the site. In 2005, acts of harassment against Jews intensified, and a guard unit was created for personal or group escort to those who came to the cemetery. In 2009, cars were attacked and many visitors were injured on the way to the cemetery. The "Jerusalem for generations" association turned to public figures, followed by a debate in the Knesset. In 2011, the chairman of the Almagor organization (terror victims association) was attacked and injured on his way to the graves of his Holocaust survivor parents. As a result, an attempt was made to increase public awareness of this attack and to mobilize the authorities and voluntary organizations against it. As of 2010, the security and personal escort service is free of charge, financed by the Ministry of Housing. Till today, burial plots and tombs remain in a state of neglect. The plots of the graves suffer from

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term ...

, including the desecration of gravestones and the destruction of graves. A series of government decisions to rehabilitate parts of the mountain, as well as funds allocated for maintenance and renovation, have not yet succeeded in changing the situation.

Notable graves

Many famous names are buried in the cemetery such as Rabbi

Chaim ibn Attar Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar ( ar, حاييم بن موشي بن عطار, he, חיים בן משה בן עטר; b. - 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist ...

, known as the ''Ohr ha-Chaim'', and Rabbi Yehuda Alcalay who were among the heralds of

Zionism Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

; Hasidic

rebbe A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritua ...

s of various dynasties and Rabbis of "

Yishuv haYashan The Old Yishuv ( he, היישוב הישן, ''haYishuv haYashan'') were the Jewish communities of the southern Syrian provinces in the Ottoman period, up to the onset of Zionist aliyah and the consolidation of the New Yishuv by the end of World ...

" (the old – pre-Zionist – Jewish settlement) together with Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, and his circle; Henrietta Szold, the founder of the Hadassah organization; the poet

Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler (née Elisabeth Schüler) (; 11 February 1869 – 22 January 1945) was a German-Jewish poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin and her poetry. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressi ...

, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, the father of

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the H ...

, Shmuel Yosef Agnon, the Nobel Laureate for Literature, and

Boris Schatz Boris Schatz ( he, בוריס שץ; 23 December 1866 – 23 March 1932) was a Lithuanian Jewish artist and sculptor who settled in Israel. Schatz, who became known as the "father of Israeli art," founded the Bezalel School in Jerusalem. After ...

, the founder of the Bezalel School of Art;

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 ...

's sixth Prime Minister Menachem Begin; the victims of the 1929 Arab riots and 1936–39 Arab revolt, the fallen from the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, together with Jews of many generations in their diversity.

Rabbis and religious scholars

Early modern period

* Obadiah ben Abraham, the ''Bartenura'' (c. 1445 – c. 1515) *

Meir ben Judah Leib Poppers Meir ben Judah Leib Poppers or Meir ben Judah Loeb Ha-Kohen Ashkenazi Poppers ( 1624–1662) was a Bohemian rabbi and kabbalist. He was born in Prague and died in Jerusalem in February or March, 1662. He studied the Kabbala under Israel Ashkenazi ...

, Bohemian rabbi and kabbalist (c. 1624–1662) * Judah he-Hasid (1660 - 1700), 17th-century immigration leader * Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar, the ''Ohr ha-Ḥayyim'' (c.1696 - 1743) * Abraham Gershon of Kitov (1701 - 1761), brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov * Shalom Sharabi, the ''Rashash'' (1720–1777) * Zundel Salant (1786–1866), rabbi and primary teacher of Rabbi

Yisrael Salanter Yisrael ben Ze'ev Wolf Lipkin, also known as "Israel Salanter" or "Yisroel Salanter" (November 3, 1809, Zhagory – February 2, 1883, Königsberg), was the father of the Musar movement in Orthodox Judaism and a famed Rosh yeshiva and Talmudist. T ...

Late 19th century onwards

* Elazar Abuchatzeira, rabbi and grandson of the

Baba Sali Israel Abuhatzeira ( he, ר׳ יִשְׂרָאֵל אַבּוּחַצִירָא), known as the Baba Sali ( ar, بابا صلى, he, בַּאבָּא סָאלִי, lit. "Praying Father") (1889–1984) was a leading Moroccan Sephardic rabbi and ka ...

* Levi Yitzchok Bender, leader of the Breslov community in Uman and Jerusalem * Avrohom Blumenkrantz, American Orthodox rabbi *

David Cohen (rabbi) David Cohen (1887–1972) (also known as "Rav Ha-Nazir," the Nazirite Rabbi) was a rabbi, talmudist, philosopher, kabbalist, and a disciple of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. A noted Jewish ascetic, he took a Nazirite vow at the outbreak of World War ...

, the "Rav Ha-Nazir" * Yehoshua Leib Diskin, rabbi in

Brest (Belarus) Brest ( be, Брэст / Берасьце, Bieraście, ; russian: Брест, ; uk, Берестя, Berestia; lt, Brasta; pl, Brześć; yi, בריסק, Brisk), formerly Brest-Litovsk (russian: Брест-Литовск, lit=Lithuanian Br ...

and Jerusalem * Shlomo Elyashiv, Lithuanian kabbalist *

Moshe Mordechai Epstein Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866–1933) was rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century. He is also one of the founders of the city of Had ...

, rosh yeshivas Slabodka, Lithuania * Nosson Tzvi Finkel, the ''Alter of Slabodka'' *Zerah Flegeltaub, rabbi of Jerusalem and

Suwałki Suwałki ( lt, Suvalkai; yi, סואוואַלק) is a city in northeastern Poland with a population of 69,206 (2021). It is the capital of Suwałki County and one of the most important centers of commerce in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. Suwałki ...

, Poland, son of Rabbi Shlomo Flegeltaub of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

* Yitzchok Dovid Groner, director of Yeshivah Centre, Melbourne,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia * Shimon Hakham, Bukharian writer and translator of Jewish holy texts and stories in Judeo-Tajik *

Moshe Halberstam Rabbi Moshe Halberstam (April 1, 1932 – April 26, 2006) was the son of Grand Rabbi Yaakov Halberstam of Tschakava, a scion of the Sanz dynasty, and of the daughter of Rabbi Sholom Moskowitz of Shotz of London. He was the Rosh Yeshivah of ...

, rosh yeshivas Tschakava *

Yosef Hayyim Yosef Hayim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) ( Iraqi Hebrew: Yoseph Ḥayyim; he, יוסף חיים מבגדאד) was a leading Baghdadi ''hakham'' (Sephardi rabbi), authority on ''halakha'' (Jewish law), and Master Kabbalist. He is best ...

, Baghdad-born rabbi and

posek In Jewish law, a ''Posek'' ( he, פוסק , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the position of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities a ...

known as the ''Ben-Ish Hai'' (disputed) *

Yitzchok Hutner Yitzchak (Isaac) Hutner ( he, יצחק הוטנר; 1906–1980) was an American Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva (dean). Originally from Warsaw, Hutner first studied the Torah in Slabodka. He then traveled to Mandatory Palestine where he became ...

, rosh yeshivas

Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or ''Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin'' ( he, יְשִׁיבַת רַבֵּינוּ חַיִּים בֶּרלִין) is an American Haredi Lithuanian-type boys' and men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. Chaim Berlin consis ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York *

Aryeh Kaplan Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan ( he, אריה משה אליהו קפלן; October 23, 1934 – January 28, 1983) was an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and translator, best known for his Living Torah edition of the Torah. He became well known as ...

, American Orthodox rabbi and author *

Abraham Isaac Kook Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one ...

(1865–1935) first to hold Ashkenazi

Chief Rabbinate of Israel The Chief Rabbinate of Israel ( he, הָרַבָּנוּת הָרָאשִׁית לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Ha-Rabbanut Ha-Rashit Li-Yisra'el'') is recognized by law as the supreme rabbinic authority for Judaism in Israel. The Chief Rabbinate C ...

position under British Mandatory Palestine. One of the fathers of

Religious Zionism Religious Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת דָּתִית, Romanization of Hebrew, translit. ''Tziyonut Datit'') is an ideology that combines Zionism and Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' ( "National Religiou ...

who founded

Mercaz HaRav Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...

in 1924. *

Zvi Yehuda Kook Zvi Yehuda Kook ( he, צבי יהודה קוק, 23 April 1891 – 9 March 1982) was a prominent ultranationalist Orthodox rabbi. He was the son of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of British Mandatory Pal ...

, Rosh Yeshiva

Mercaz HaRav Kook Mercaz HaRav (officially, he, מרכז הרב - הישיבה המרכזית העולמית, "The Center of Rabbi ook- the Central Universal Yeshiva") is a national-religious yeshiva in Jerusalem, founded in 1924 by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Abraha ...

and son of Rav

Elyah Lopian Eliyahu Lopian (1876 – 21 September 1970), known as Reb Elyah, was a leading rabbi of the Musar movement, Mussar Movement. As a disciple of the Kelm Talmud Torah method, he was known for his strictness with respect to order and self-control. B ...

, prominent rabbi of the Musar movement * Avigdor Miller, American Orthodox rabbi, author and lecturer * Shlomo Moussaieff, Bukharian family patriarch *

Yaakov Mutzafi Yaakov Mutzafi ( he, יעקב מוצפי ''Ya'aqov Muṣafi''; 1899 - May 25, 1983) was a rabbi and kabbalist. The last spiritual leader of the ancient Jewish community of Iraq, he moved to Israel ahead of the Jewish masses when they were finally ...

, head of the

Sephardi 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 ...

Edah HaHaredith, Jerusalem *

Eliyahu David Rabinowitz-Teomim Elijah David Rabinowitz-Teomim (1843—1905), also known by his acronym ADeReT, was a Lithuanian rabbi in the 19th century who served as the leader of the Jewish community of Panevėžys, as the rabbi of Mir, led the Ashkenazi community in Jeru ...

, rosh yeshivas

Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...

* Yechezkel Sarna, rosh yeshivas Slabodka *

Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg ( he, חיים פנחס שיינברג;‎ 1 October 1910 – 20 March 2012) was a Polish-born, American-raised, Israeli Haredi rabbi and rosh yeshiva who, from 1965, made his home in the Kiryat Mattersdorf neighborho ...

, rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Ore *

Gedalia Schorr Gedalyahu HaLevi Schorr (27 November 1910 – 7 July 1979),http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/jo/tworld/rschorr.html also known as Gedalia Schorr, was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva. He was regarded as the "first American Gadol" (Torah ...

, rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaas, Brooklyn, New York *

Sholom Schwadron Sholom Mordechai Hakohen Schwadron ( he, הרב שלום מרדכי הכהן שבדרון) (1912–21 December 1997) was a Haredi rabbi and orator. He was known as the "Maggid of Jerusalem" for his fiery, inspirational mussar talks. Some of ...

, the "Maggid of Jerusalem" *

Dov Schwartzman Dov Schwartzman (1921 – 7 November 2011), also called Berel Schwartzman, was a Russian-born American Haredi Jewish rabbi, educator, Talmudic scholar, and ''rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of Bais Hatalmud, which he founded in the Sanhedria Murheve ...

, rosh yeshiva Yeshivas Bais HaTalmud, Jerusalem *

Avraham Shapira Avraham Shapira ( he, אברהם אלקנה כהנא שפירא; 20 May 1914, Jerusalem – 27 September 2007) was a prominent rabbi in the Religious Zionist world. Shapira had been the head of the Rabbinical court of Jerusalem, and both a ...

, rosh yeshivas Mercaz HaRav Kook *

Gedaliah Silverstone Rabbi George (Gedaliah) Silverstone (born 1871 in Jasionowka, Russian Empire − died July 22, 1944 in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine) was a prominent Orthodox rabbi and author in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Biograp ...

, rabbi in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and Washington, D.C. *

Yaakov Chaim Sofer Yaakov Chaim Sofer (1870–1939) (Hebrew: יעקב חיים סופר) was a Sephardi rabbi, Kabbalist, Talmudist and ''posek''. He is the author of ''Kaf Hachaim'', a work of halakha that he came to be known by. Biography Sofer was born in Bagh ...

, the ''Kaf Hachaim'' * Ahron Soloveichik, rosh yeshivas Brisk,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

* Pesach Stein, rosh yeshivas Telz,

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (15 February 1902 – 14 June 1989), commonly known as the ''Minchas Yitzchak'' after the Responsa he authored, was the rabbi of the Edah HaChareidis in Jerusalem] at the time of his death, but his Halakha, halakhic i ...

, head of the

Edah HaChareidis The Charedi Council of Jerusalem ( he, העדה החרדית, ''haEdah haCharedit'', Ashkenazi pronunciation: ''ha-Aideh Charaidis'' or ''ha-Eido ha-Chareidis''; "Congregation of God-Fearers") is a large Haredi Jewish communal organization based i ...

, Jerusalem

Hasidic Rebbes

* Simcha Bunim Alter, fifth Gerrer rebbe *

Yisrael Alter Yisrael Alter ( pl, Izrael Alter, Hebrew: ; October 1895 – 20 February 1977), also known as the ''Beit Yisrael'', after the works he authored, was the fifth Rebbe of the Hasidic dynasty of Ger, a position he held from 1948 until 1977. Life ...

, fourth Gerrer rebbe *

Moshe Biderman Grand Rabbi Moshe Biderman (1776-1851) of Lelów was the 2nd Rebbe of the Lelov Hassidic dynasty. Biography Rabbi Moshe Biderman was born into abject poverty in Łachów, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland in 1776. His father, Rabbi Dovid B ...

, Lelover rebbe *

Mordechai Shlomo Friedman Mordechai Shlomo Friedman (15 October 1891 in Boiany, Ukraine – 2 March 1971 in New York City), sometimes called Solomon Mordecai Friedman, was the Boyaner Rebbe of New York for over 40 years. In 1927 he left Europe to become one of the first H ...

, Boyaner rebbe of New York City * Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, second Bostoner rebbe * Maiden of Ludmir, female Hasidic rebbe * Yechiel Yehoshua Rabinowicz, Biala Rebbe Meir Halachmi, ''Toldot Hachasidut b'Erets Yisrael'', vol.2, pp. 73-83, ''Beit Biala'' * David Matityahu Rabinowicz, the "Laheves David", Biala Rebbe and son of Rebbe Yechiel Yehoshua * Isamar Rosenbaum, Nadvorna rebbe * Shaul Yedidya Elazar Taub, Modzitzer rebbe

Chief Rabbis

Solomon Eliezer Alfandari Solomon Eliezer Alfandari ( he, שלמה אליעזר אלפנדרי) ( 1826 – 22 Iyar 1930), also known as the Saba Kadisha ("Holy Grandfather"), was a distinguished rabbi, kabbalist and rosh yeshiva in his native home of Constantinople, and ...

, Chief Rabbi of Damascus and Safed *Meir Auerbach, first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem *Chaim Berlin, Chief Rabbi of Moscow *She'ar Yashuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa *Haim Moussa Douek, Chief Rabbi of Egypt *Jacob Saul Elyashar, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Ottoman Palestine *Shlomo Goren, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Chief Rabbi of Israel *Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits, Immanuel Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of the United Synagogue, United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, London *

, Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine, Mandate Palestine *Jacob Meir, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of British Mandate Palestine *Meyer Rosenbaum (II), Meyer Rosenbaum, Chief Rabbi of Cuba *Shmuel Salant, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem *Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Chief Rabbi of the

, Jerusalem *Isser Yehuda Unterman, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel *Shlomo Zev Zweigenhaft, Chief Rabbi of Hanover and Lower Saxony

Businesspeople

*Sheldon Adelson, American Jewish businessman, investor, philanthropist and political donor *Harry Fischel, American Jewish businessman and philanthropist *Robert Maxwell, British media magnate, fraudster, and supporter of Israel *George Weidenfeld, Baron Weidenfeld, George Weidenfeld, British Jewish businessman and philanthropist

Cultural figures

* Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer *Nissim Behar, pioneer of modern Hebrew education *Shmuel Ben David (1884–1927), illustrator, painter, typographer, and designer * Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, father of modern Hebrew *Jacob Fishman, American Yiddish newspaper editor *Israel Dov Frumkin, Israeli journalist *Uri Zvi Grinberg, Israeli poet and journalist *Yossele Rosenblatt, hazzan and composer *

, founder of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Bezalel School in Jerusalem *

, German-Jewish poet *Yosef Shenberger, Israeli architect *Ephraim Urbach, Israeli scholar

Political figures

*Judah Alkalai (Yehuda Alcalay; 1798–1878), precursor of political Zionism *Moshe Barazani, Lehi (group), Lehi fighter * Menachem Begin, Israeli prime minister *Eliyahu Ben-Elissar, Israeli politician and diplomat *Israel Eldad, Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist philosopher and fighter *Meir Feinstein, Irgun fighter *Jacob Israël de Haan, Dutch Jewish journalist assassinated by the Haganah *Zevulun Hammer, Israeli politician, minister and deputy prime minister *Moshe Hirsch, rabbi, leader of Neturei Karta, anti-Zionist militant *Ida Silverman, Jewish philanthropist, speaker, and Zionist fund-raiser * Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America, Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America *Dawid Wdowiński Founder of the ZZW

Figures from science

*Israel Jacob Kligler, microbiologist, main actor in the eradication of malaria in Mandatory Palestine *Jacob Lahijani, scientist and inventor

Terror victims

*Eliyahu Asheri, Israeli terror victim *Gavriel Holtzberg, Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, terror victims *Rachel, Netanel, Rephael and Ephraim Weiss, victims of the Jericho bus firebombingGradstein, Linda (November 1, 1988
"Israel Buries Victims Of Firebombing"
''Sun Sentinel'' *Abraham Zelmanowitz, American victim of the September 11 attacks

References

External links

{{Commons category, Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery
Official website
Mount of Olives Jewish cemeteries in Jerusalem Jewish pilgrimage sites Cemetery vandalism and desecration