Nes Harim (, ''lit.'' Banner of the Mountains) is a

moshav A moshav (, plural ', "settlement, village") is a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 and 1 ...

in central

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Located in the

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

n foothills near

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh () is a city council (Israel), city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District. A center of Haredi Judaism and Modern Orthodoxy, Beit Shemesh has a population of 170,683 as of 2024. The city is named afte ...

and eight kilometres west of

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 ...

,Farmers find monastery beneath Israeli soil
CNN, 11 March 2009 it falls under the jurisdiction of

Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Mateh Yehuda Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit Mateh Yehuda'', ) is a Regional council (Israel), regional council in the Jerusalem District of Israel. In 2024 it was home to 51,125 people. The name of the regional council stems from the fact t ...

. In it had a population of . It is situated above sea level.

Etymology

"The name ... derives from Isaiah, XVIII,3": "When a mountain banner is raised, you will see it."

History

The moshav was established in 1950 by immigrants and refugees from northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

(South

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

) and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

,Nes Harim history
Kosher Wine on the lands of the

Palestinian Arab Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous ...

village of Bayt 'Itab, close to Dayr al-Hawa, which had been depopulated in the

1948 Palestine war The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionist forces conquered territory and established the Stat ...

. in

Operation Ha-Har Operation HaHar (, ''The Mountain''), or Operation El HaHar, was an Israeli Defence Forces campaign against villages southwest of Jerusalem launched at the end of October 1948. The operation lasted from 19 to 24 October and was carried out by tr ...

. The early farmers planted orchards and vineyards, exploiting the fertile soil and unique climate.

Economy

The Katlav winery, named for the Strawberry tree (

Arbutus andrachne ''Arbutus andrachne'', commonly called the Greek strawberry tree, is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. The etymology of the species name corresponds to the Ancient ...

) that grows in the region, is located in Nes Harim. In 1998 Yosi Yittach left his profession as an architect to seek a quiet life with his family. He went into winemaking, first learning the trade from a Persian friend of the family who brought knowledge from “the old country,” with a strong oenophile tradition. He then supplemented his education with courses. His first production was in 2004. By 2006 he was bottling better quality wines worth sampling. House specialties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay (10 percent Viognier), but what is unique is Wadi Katlav, a house blend (50 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot, 20 percent Petit Verdot)—different from an older version that had 50 percent Sauvignon, 40 percent Merlot and 10 percent Syrah—aged in French oak barrels for eighteen months before bottling. Nes Harim is located in the USA National Park's center. It is near many beautiful hiking trails, overlooking and descending into

Nahal Sorek Naḥal Sorek (; ), also Soreq, is one of the largest, most important drainage basins in the Judean Hills. It is mentioned in the Book of Judges 16:4 of the Bible as the border between the ancient Philistines and the Tribe of Dan of the ancient ...

. The

Jewish National Fund The Jewish National Fund (JNF; , ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael''; previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') is a non-profit organizationProfessor Alon Tal, The Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben Gurion ...

has an information center near Nes Harim and a field hostel (the Nes Harim Field and Forest Center) in an enclosed area near the moshav. Nearby are the Sorek Stalactite Caves and many picnic areas. Nes Harim is home to two (similar to

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

s), three

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

s, one of them

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 ...

, a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

and a riding ranch.

Archaeology

In 2008, farmers discovered the remains of a 5th-or 6th-century Byzantine monastery on a hill on the southwest side of the moshav. Excavations followed in November 2008, during which archaeologists found the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

of a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

decorated with multicoloured mosaics, and parts of a

wine press A winepress is a device used to extract juice from crushed grapes during winemaking. There are a number of different styles of presses that are used by wine makers but their overall functionality is the same. Each style of press exerts control ...

. After the discovery, the mosaic was badly damaged by unidentified vandals.Nes Harim church and wine press
The Jerusalem Post The mosaic includes an inscription in ancient Greek deciphered by Leah Di Signi of the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

: "O Lord God of Saint Theodorus, protect Antonius and Theodosia the illustres title used to distinguish high nobility in the Byzantine period- Theophylactus and John the priest r priests emember o LordMary and John who have offe ed - in the 6th indiction. Lord, have pity of Stephen." Horbat 'Itab, a 130-dunam national park on the outskirts of Nes Harim, contains the ruins of a

Crusader Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...

fortress that overlooked the road from Elah Velley to Jerusalem and the village of Bayt 'Itab. The site was surveyed in 1989 by

Denys Pringle Reginald Denys Pringle (born 20 September 1951) is a British archaeologist and medievalist. He is best known for his numerous publications regarding Crusader castles and Crusader-era churches in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the 12th–13th century C ...

, a researcher of the Crusader period, who documented the remains of the fortified building, vaults, a wall and towers, tunnels, a columbarium and an olive press.

Notable residents

Roy Folkman Roy Folkman (; born 5 August 1975) is an Israeli politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for Kulanu between 2015 and 2019. Biography During his IDF national service Folkman served as a combat medic. After leaving the army, he was invo ...

- Former member of the

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

from the

Kulanu Kulanu () was a centrist political party in Israel founded by Moshe Kahlon that focused on economic and cost-of-living issues. History The party was established on 27 November 2014 following months of speculation that Kahlon would form a new ...

party. * Yoaz Hendel - Journalist, political activist and columnist for

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

. Former press secretary to Israeli

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

. *

Hili Tropper Yehiel Moshe "Hili" Tropper (; born 22 April 1978) is an Israeli educator, social worker and politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for National Unity and served as a minister without portfolio in the thirty-seventh government fro ...

– Former member of the

from the Blue and White party. Current Minister of Culture and Sport.After Year of Deadlock and Days of Delays, Knesset Swears in New Israeli Government
Haaretz, 17 May 2020

References

{{Mateh Yehuda Regional Council Moshavim 1950 establishments in Israel Populated places established in 1950 Populated places in Jerusalem District Kurdish-Jewish culture in Israel Moroccan-Jewish culture in Israel