Pisgat Ze'ev (, lit. ''Ze'ev's Peak'') is an

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

and the largest residential neighborhood in

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 ...

with a population of over 50,000. Pisgat Ze'ev was established by

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 ...

as one of the city's five Ring Neighborhoods on land effectively annexed after the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

. The international community considers Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. Pisgat Ze'ev is situated east of Shuafat and Beit Hanina, west of Hizma, south of Neve Yaakov, and north of 'Anata and the Shuafat

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

. The

Israeli West Bank barrier The West Bank barrier, West Bank wall or the West Bank separation barrier, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line (Israel), Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. Israel describes the wall as a necessary securi ...

includes Pisgat Ze'ev in the northern section of Jerusalem while excluding Shuafat refugee camp from the city by running in an S-shape here.

History

Antiquity

Archeological evidence shows that in the biblical period, the site encompassed small agricultural villages along routes north from Jerusalem to

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

and the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

. The villages made use of varied water-catchment strategies and served the needs of Israelite Jerusalem, including as a major producer of wine and oil for use in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

.Pisgat Ze'ev

Jerusalem Municipality The Jerusalem Municipality (), the seat of the Israeli municipal administration, consists of a number of buildings located on Jaffa Road in the city of Jerusalem. History British Mandate town hall (1930) Jerusalem's old town hall was bui ...

Three ritual baths from the

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

period have been excavated in Pisgat Ze'ev. The

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period saw the villages' primary use shift from agriculture to service religious functions, such as churches and monasteries. A large monastery from the period was located at the site's highest point, Ras at-Tawill. The monastery was likely active from the end of the 5th century to the close of the 8th century, and included a mosaic-floored chapel above a burial cave, as well as an oil press and a cloth bag of 200 coins. An oven and pots from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

were also found nearby. An archaeological site known as ''Deir Ghazali'' (the Deer Monastery) was also excavated in eastern Pisgat Ze’ev. Overlooking the neighborhood is Tell el-Ful, believed to be the capital of the

Tribe of Judah According to the Hebrew Bible, the tribe of Judah (, ''Shevet Yehudah'') was one of the twelve Tribes of Israel, named after Judah (son of Jacob), Judah, the son of Jacob. Judah was one of the tribes to take its place in Canaan, occupying it ...

and site of the Israelite King

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

's palace. King

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until Death and state funeral of King Hussein, his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemites, Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hu ...

began constructing a palace there in the mid-1960s.

Modern era

In the 1930s, plots of land were purchased near Hizme by European Jews for the establishment of a Jewish farming cooperative, Havatzelet Binyamin. Most of the landowners died in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. The land was later expropriated along with Palestinian land to build Pisgat Ze'ev.Much of Pisgat Ze'ev built on land bought by Jews who died in the Holocaust
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' Pisgat Ze'ev was established in 1982 on land annexed to Israel after the 1967

as one of the city's five Ring Neighborhoods, meant to create a contiguous Jewish link with Neve Yaakov in the city's north, which had been isolated from other Jewish areas. The original name proposal was "Pisgat Tal," based on the Arabic name of the hilltop where construction was to begin, ''Ras at-Tawill'', but the final choice was Pisgat Ze'ev, after the

Revisionist Zionist Revisionist Zionism is a form of Zionism characterized by territorial maximalism. Revisionist Zionism promoted expansionism and the establishment of a Jewish majority on both sides of the Jordan River. Developed by Ze'ev Jabotinsky in the 1920s ...

leader,

Ze'ev Jabotinsky Ze'ev Jabotinsky (born Vladimir Yevgenyevich Zhabotinsky; 17 October 1880 – 3 August 1940) was a Russian-born author, poet, orator, soldier, and founder of the Revisionist Zionist movement and the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in O ...

. According to ARIJ, Israel confiscated land from several surrounding

Palestinian 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 p ...

communities in order to construct Pisgat Ze'ev: *1,458

dunam A dunam ( Ottoman Turkish, Arabic: ; ; ; ), also known as a donum or dunum and as the old, Turkish, or Ottoman stremma, was the Ottoman unit of area analogous in role (but not equal) to the Greek stremma or English acre, representing the amo ...

s from Beit Hanina,Beit Hanina Town Profile
2013, pp. 13-14 *686 dunams from Beit Hanina for the Pisgat Amir neighbourhood in Pisgat Ze'ev, *239 dunams from Shuafat,Shu’fat Town Profile
2013 p. 14 *89 dunams from Hizma.''Hizma Village Profile''
2012, p. 17 In May 2003, a public bus leaving the Pisgat Ze'ev terminus was blown up by a Palestinian suicide bomber. Seven people were killed in the attack and dozens were wounded. The police said the bomber boarded the bus disguised as a religious Jew, wearing a kippa and a prayer shawl. One of the victims was a resident of the Shuafat refugee camp, on his way to work at the

Hadassah Medical Center Hadassah Medical Center () is an Israeli medical organization established in 1934 that operates two university hospitals in Jerusalem (one in Ein Karem and one in Mount Scopus) as well as schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacology ...

in Ein Kerem.

Geography

The neighborhood was established on a hilltop known in Arabic as ''Ras at-Tawill'', 772 meters above sea level, and its additional construction phases descend along the ridge and up to a neighboring hill. Pisgat Ze'ev has five districts: Center (1984), West (1988), East and North (1990), and South (1998). Pisgat Ze'ev is situated in north Jerusalem to the east of Shuafat and Beit Hanina, west of Hizma, south of Neve Yaakov, and north of French Hill, 'Anata and the Shuafat refugee camp. It is due east of the watershed on the edge of the

Judean Desert The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert (, ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that stretches east of the ridge of the Judaean Mountains and in their rain shadow, so east of Jerusalem, and descends to the Dead Sea. Under the name El-Bariyah, ...

Demographics

In 2017, Pisgat Zeev had a population of 42,300. In 2007 it was reported to have about 1,300 of which were Arabs. Many residents of Pisgat Ze'ev are Jerusalem families that left the city center in search of more affordable housing. Pisgat Ze'ev has a mixed population of religious and secular Jews. The construction of the

has also prompted Arabs to move to Pisgat Ze'ev.

Status under international law

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the

Israeli-occupied territories Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prio ...

, including East Jerusalem, to violate the

Fourth Geneva Convention The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (), more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1 ...

's prohibition on the transfer of a civilian population into occupied territory and thus illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this. Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to these territories as they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. This view has been rejected by the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

and the

International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...

Schools and public buildings

With 40 percent of the residents under the age of 21, Pisgat Ze'ev has 58 kindergartens, 9 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 3 high schools. There are also 22 synagogues and 2 libraries.

Transportation

Moshe Dayan Moshe Dayan (; May 20, 1915 – October 16, 1981) was an Israeli military leader and politician. As commander of the Jerusalem front in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Chief of General Staff (Israel), Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defe ...

Boulevard, beginning at Highway 1 (Israel/Palestine) in the south and ending in Neve Yaakov in the north, is named after the famed Israeli Army general. It is Pisgat Ze'ev's major commercial thoroughfare, including many shops, eateries and the Pisga Mall. Pisgat Ze'ev is located on the Jerusalem Light Rail line. Pisgat Ze'ev Center is two stations away from the northern terminus. Many of the street names in Pisgat Ze'ev commemorate leading Israeli personalities such as Simcha Holtzberg, Moshe Rachmilewitz, Eliyahu Meridor and Meir Gershon. In the center of Pisgat Ze'ev, many streets are named for

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

units that fought in the country's wars such as Sayeret Duchifat Blvd., HaSayeret HaYerushalmit St., Sayeret Golani St. and Hel HaAvir St. A memorial for fallen soldiers is located in an archeological park in central Pisgat Ze'ev.

Street names

Boulevard, beginning at Highway 1 (Israel/Palestine) in the south and ending in Neve Yaakov in the north, is named after the famed Israeli Army general. It is Pisgat Ze'ev's major commercial thoroughfare, including many shops, eateries and the Pisga Mall. Many of the street names in Pisgat Ze'ev commemorate leading Israeli personalities such as Simcha Holtzberg, Moshe Rachmilewitz, Eliyahu Meridor and Meir Gershon. In the center of Pisgat Ze'ev, many streets are named for

Environmental projects

With the help of the

Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (, ''HaHevra LeHaganat HaTeva''), or SPNI, is an Israeli non-profit environmental organization working to preserve plants, animals, and natural environments that represent bio-diversity, by protectin ...

(SPNI), the residents of Pisgat Ze'ev transformed a site used as an illegal dumping ground into a

wildflower A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, rather than being intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is any different from the native plant, eve ...

sanctuary with over 55 species of trees and plants. In 2011, an innovative water-recycling project was introduced at the

ritual bath Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of ''uncleanliness'', especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification ...

in Pisgat Ze'ev which will make it unnecessary to change the water every day. In 2011, rainwater collection tanks were installed at the Pisgat Ze'ev (West) school in a project designed to conserve water organized by the Green Network, which specializes in educational programming in ecology and the environment.

References

External links

Official website

Portal — Pisgat Ze'ev {{Coord, 31, 49, 30, N, 35, 14, 30, E , region:IL_type:city , display=title Ring Settlements, East Jerusalem Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem 1982 establishments in Palestine Populated places established in 1982