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Coordinates: 31°47′00″N 35°15′03″E / 31.78333°N 35.25083°E / 31.78333; 35.25083
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By the end of 1949, and throughout the Jordanian occupation of the site, Arab residents uprooted tombstones and plowed the land in the cemeteries, while skeletons and bones were strewn about and scattered. An estimated 38,000 tombstones were smashed or damaged in total. Jewish tombstones from the Mount, both ancient and new, were used by the Jordanians for various purposes, including flooring for [[latrine]]s and paving stones for roads. During this period, four roads were paved through the cemeteries, in the process destroying graves including those of famous persons. Buildings, including the [[Intercontinental Hotel]] and a [[gas station]], were erected on top of ancient graves.<ref>[[Nadav Shragai]], [http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=443&PID=0&IID=3052 The Mount of Olives under Jordanian Rule], [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs|JCPA]] 2009 and references</ref>
By the end of 1949, and throughout the Jordanian occupation of the site, Arab residents uprooted tombstones and plowed the land in the cemeteries, while skeletons and bones were strewn about and scattered. An estimated 38,000 tombstones were smashed or damaged in total. Jewish tombstones from the Mount, both ancient and new, were used by the Jordanians for various purposes, including flooring for [[latrine]]s and paving stones for roads. During this period, four roads were paved through the cemeteries, in the process destroying graves including those of famous persons. Buildings, including the [[Intercontinental Hotel]] and a [[gas station]], were erected on top of ancient graves.<ref>[[Nadav Shragai]], [http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=443&PID=0&IID=3052 The Mount of Olives under Jordanian Rule], [[Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs|JCPA]] 2009 and references</ref>

==Israeli occupation (1967-Present)==
As of 2010, the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives is targeted regularly by Arab vandals, who smear human feces on the tombs, daub markers with tar, paint and hate graffiti, cover the grounds with garbage and construction debris, and shatter gravestones with hammers. Mourners are also physically assaulted, with frequent stonings of vehicles from the yard of a nearby Arab school. In one incident, a family was attacked by Arabs with boards, cement blocks and rocks, resulting in two of its members being hospitalized. In another incident in 2010, 23 headstones were smashed in a single day. Notable graves that have been defaced by vandals include those of the [[Gerrer Rebbe]] and [[Menahem Begin]].<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=163398 Mount of Olives security beefed up to stop vandalism], Jerusalem Post 17-12-2009</ref><ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=175637 Has Israel abandoned the Mount of Olives?], Jerusalem Post 15-05-2010</ref><ref>[http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3888827,00.html Vandalism returns to Mount of Olives cemetery], Ynet News 12-05-2010</ref><ref name=shameful>[http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Article.aspx?id=194272 Shameful dereliction at the Mt. of Olives Cemetery], Jerusalem Post 06-11-2010</ref>

On 6 November 2010, an international watch-committee was set up by non-Israeli Jews with the aim of reversing the desecration of the Jewish cemetery. According to one of the founders, the initiative was triggered by witnessing tombstones that were wrecked with "the kind of maliciousness that defies the imagination."<ref name=shameful/>


==Landmarks==
==Landmarks==

Revision as of 16:41, 12 March 2011

"Mount Olivet" redirects here. For other uses, see Mount Olivet (disambiguation).
Mt. of Olives, circa 1899

The Mount of Olives (also Mount Olivet, Template:Lang-he, Har HaZeitim ;Template:Lang-ar, Jebel az-Zeitun) is a mountain ridge in eastern Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south.[1] The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters (2,683 ft).[2] It is named for the olive groves that covers its slopes. The Mount of Olives is associated with Jewish and Christian traditions. The mount has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves.[3]

History

The traditional Rock-cut tombs of Zechariah and the Benei Hezir.

From Biblical times until today, Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives. The necropolis on the southern ridge, the location of the modern village of Silwan, was the burial place of the city's most important citizens in the period of the Biblical kings.[4] There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including tombs traditionally associated with Zechariah and Avshalom. On the upper slope, the traditional Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi‎ is situated. Notable rabbis buried on the mount include Chaim ibn Attar and others from the 15th-century to present.

Roman soldiers from the 10th Legion camped on the Mount during the Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE. The religious ceremony marking the start of a new month was held on the Mount of Olives in the days of the Second Temple.[5] After the destruction of the Temple, Jews celebrated the festival of Sukkot on the Mount of Olives. They made pilgrimages to the Mount of Olives because it was 80 meters higher than the Temple Mount and offered a panoramic view of the Temple site. It became a traditional place for lamenting the Temple's destruction, especially on Tisha B'Av.[5] In 1481, an Italian Jewish pilgrim, Rabbi Meshulam Da Volterra, wrote: "And all the community of Jews, every year, goes up to Mount Zion on the day of Tisha B'Av to fast and mourn, and from there they move down along Yoshafat Valley and up to Mount of Olives. From there they see the whole Temple (the Temple Mount) and there they weep and lament the destruction of this House."[6] In the mid-1850s, the villagers of Silwan were paid £100 annually by the Jews in an effort to prevent the desecration of graves on the mount.[7]

During the Islamization of Jerusalem under Jordanian occupation form 1948 to 1967, Jewish burials were halted, massive vandalism took place, and 40,000 of the 50,000 graves were desecrated.[8][9][10][11] King Hussein permitted the construction of the Intercontinental Hotel at the summit of the Mount of Olives together with a road that cut through the cemetery which destroyed hundreds of Jewish graves, some from the First Temple Period.[12][13][14] After the Six-Day War, restoration work began, and the cemetery was re-opened for burials.

Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin asked to be buried on the Mount of Olives near the grave of Etzel member Meir Feinstein, rather than Mount Herzl national cemetery.[15]

Religious significance

Old Testament references

The Mount of Olives is first mentioned in connection with David's flight from Absalom (II Samuel 15:30): "And David went up by the ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up." The ascent was probably east of the City of David, near the village of Silwan.[1] The sacred character of the mount is alluded to in the Ezekiel (11:23): "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city."[1] Solomon built altars to the gods of his wives on the southern peak (I Kings 11:7–8). During the reign of King Josiah, the mount was called the Mount of Corruption (II Kings 23:13). An apocalyptic prophecy in the Book of Zechariah states that Yahweh will stand on the Mount of Olives and the mountain will split in two, with one half shifting north and one half shifting south (Zechariah 14:4).

The biblical designation Har HaMashchit derives from the idol worship there, begun by King Solomon's Moabite and Ammonite wives "on the mountain which is before (east of) Jerusalem" (Kings I 11:17), just outside the limits of the holy city. This site was infamous for idol worship throughout the First Temple period, until king of Judah Josiah finally destroyed "the high places that were before Jerusalem, to the right of Har HaMashchit,..."

New Testament references

Churches on Mt. of Olives

The Mount of Olives is frequently mentioned in the New Testament (Matthew 21:1;26:30, etc.) as the route from Jerusalem to Bethany and the place where Jesus stood when he wept over Jerusalem. Jesus is said to have spent time on the mount, teaching and prophesying to his disciples (Matthew 24–25), including the Olivet discourse, returning after each day to rest (Luke 21:37), and also coming there on the night of his betrayal (Matthew 26:39). At the foot of the Mount of Olives lies the Garden of Gethsemane. The New Testament, tells how Jesus and his friends sang together – "When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives" Gospel of Matthew 26:30. Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mt of Olives as recorded in the book of Acts 1:9–12.

View of Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives

Jordanian occupation (1948–1967)

In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jordan occupied East Jerusalem, including the Mount of Olives, and held it until the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. During this period, Jordan annexed its part of the city, but this was recognized only by the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Jordan had obligated itself within the framework of the 3 April 1949 Armistice Agreement to allow "free access to the holy sites and cultural institutions and use of the cemeteries on the Mount of Olives," but it did not honor this obligation.

By the end of 1949, and throughout the Jordanian occupation of the site, Arab residents uprooted tombstones and plowed the land in the cemeteries, while skeletons and bones were strewn about and scattered. An estimated 38,000 tombstones were smashed or damaged in total. Jewish tombstones from the Mount, both ancient and new, were used by the Jordanians for various purposes, including flooring for latrines and paving stones for roads. During this period, four roads were paved through the cemeteries, in the process destroying graves including those of famous persons. Buildings, including the Intercontinental Hotel and a gas station, were erected on top of ancient graves.[16]

Landmarks

Mount of Olives today

The Mount of Olives is part of East Jerusalem, and is administered by Israel. The Arab neighborhood of at-Tur is located on the mountain's summit, and the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem abuts the mount on the north. Landmarks on the Mount of Olives include Yad Avshalom, the Tomb of Zechariah, the Church of all Nations, the Church of Maria Magdalene, Dominus Flevit Church, Gethsemane, Mary's Tomb, Church of the Pater Noster, the Seven Arches Hotel, and Orson Hyde Park. At the base of the slope is the Emek Tzurim National Park and the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation.[17]

Notable graves

Rabbis

Hasidic Rebbes

Chief Rabbis

Cultural figures

Political figures

References

  1. ^ a b c This is Jerusalem Menashe Har-El, Canaan Publishing House, Jerusalem, 1977, p.117
  2. ^ Hull, Edward (1885). Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine. Richad Bently and Son, London. p. 152.
  3. ^ International committee vows to restore Mount of Olives, Ynet.
  4. ^ The Necropolis from the Time of the Kingdom of Judah at Silwan, Jerusalem, David Ussishkin, The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 33, No. 2 (May, 1970), pp. 33–46,
  5. ^ a b Har-el, Menashe (1977). This is Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Canaan. pp. 120–123.
  6. ^ Nom de Deu, J. (1987). Relatos de Viajes y Epistolas de Peregrinos Jud.os a Jerusalén. Madrid. p. 82.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ Menashe Har-El (April 2004). Golden Jerusalem. Gefen Publishing House Ltd. p. 244. ISBN 9789652292544. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  8. ^ City of Stone, Meron Benvenisti
  9. ^ Letter dated 5th March 1968 from the permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary General, Ref: S/8439, March 6, 1968. "In the ancient historic Jewish graveyard on the Mount of Olives, tens of thousands of tombstones had been torn up, broken into pieces or used as flagstones, steps and building materials in Jordanian military installations and civilian constructions. Large areas of the cemetery had been levelled and converted into parking places and petrol-filling stations."
  10. ^ Har-El, Menashe. Golden Jerusalem, Gefen Publishing House Ltd, 2004, pg. 126. ISBN: 9652292540. “The majority (50,000 of the 70,000) was desecrated by the Arabs during the nineteen years of Jordanian rule in eastern Jerusalem.”
  11. ^ Tessler, Mark A. A History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Indiana University Press, 1994. pg. 329. ISBN: 0253208734.
  12. ^ Bronner, Ethan; Kershner, Isabel (2009-05-10). "Parks Fortify Israel's Claim to Jerusalem". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  13. ^ "Fact Sheets #8 – Jerusalem". Jewish Virtual Library. May 19, 2005. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  14. ^ Alon, Amos (1995). Jerusalem: Battlegrounds of Memory. New York: Kodansha Int'l. p. 75. ISBN 1568360991. After 1967, it was discovered that tombstones had been removed from the ancient cemetery to pave the latrines of a nearby Jordanian army barrack.
  15. ^ Sheleg, Yair (2007-07-04). "The good jailer". Haaretz. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  16. ^ Nadav Shragai, The Mount of Olives under Jordanian Rule, JCPA 2009 and references
  17. ^ "Emek Tzurim". The City of David. 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
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