Ateret Cohanim
Encyclopedia
Ateret Cohanim, also known as Ateret Yerushalyim, is a Religious Zionist yeshiva
located in the Muslim Quarter
of the Old City of Jerusalem in Israel
. Founded in 1978, it uses the building of the historic Torath Chaim Yeshiva. The organization is also dedicated to encouraging Israeli Jews move to live in East Jerusalem
and particularly to live in the Old City, which their Judean forbears built prior to exile
by the Roman
and Muslim conquests
and settlements. Some estimate that 1,000 Israeli Jews live in houses that Ateret Cohanim purchased in the Old City since 1978.
, Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog
and Aryeh Levin
studied there. The ground floor of the building served as a shop selling vegetables which provided funds for the yeshiva's maintenance.
In the wake of the 1936 Arab riots, the yeshiva relocated to the new city, leaving the building and its contents entrusted to an Arab watchman who faithfully preserved it until the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. This yeshiva was the only one out of approximately 80 synagogues and study halls which wasn't destroyed by Jordan
during the Jordanian occupation of Jerusalem
. In 1967, the caretaker handed the keys to Chaim Herzog
(in his function as the military governor of Judea and Samaria
/the West Bank
), telling him that "the holy place watched over me more than I watched over it" during those years.
Currently headed by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner
, it caters for 150 students from all over Israel, all of whom serve in the Israel Defence Force.
The yeshiva was involved in buying property from Arabs in the Old City and its environs, to increase the number of Jews in the area. Since around the year 2000, such activities are done by a separate organization carrying the same name. Currently, Ateret Cohanim reportedly owns more than 70 buildings in the Muslim Quarter, worth an estimated $10 million. The property includes their yeshiva, the building that houses Yeshiva Shuvu Banim, several dormitories, a museum, and about 50 apartment units. Some of the property once belonged to Jews who lived in the Muslim Quarter before they were driven out by pogroms in 1929 and 1936. Ateret Cohanim officials estimate that the cost to purchase the rest of the buildings in the Muslim Quarter is $100 million, with another $100 million for renovations.
In April 2009, members of the group entered and seized a house in East Jerusalem. Ateret Cohanim had previously tried to claim ownership of the same house but was rejected by the courts. A spokesperson for the group claims that they have bought the property.
Notable former students include Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham
.
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
located in the Muslim Quarter
Muslim Quarter
The Muslim Quarter is one of the four quarters of the ancient, walled Old City of Jerusalem. It covers 31 hectares of the northeastern sector of the Old City. The quarter is the largest and most populous and extends from the Lions' Gate in the east, along the northern wall of the Temple Mount in...
of the Old City of Jerusalem in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Founded in 1978, it uses the building of the historic Torath Chaim Yeshiva. The organization is also dedicated to encouraging Israeli Jews move to live in East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem
East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem refer to the parts of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Jordan in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and then captured and annexed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War...
and particularly to live in the Old City, which their Judean forbears built prior to exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
by the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
and settlements. Some estimate that 1,000 Israeli Jews live in houses that Ateret Cohanim purchased in the Old City since 1978.
History
Torath Chaim Yeshiva
In 1886, Rabbi Yitzchak Winongrad established the prestigious Torath Chaim Yeshiva on ha-Gai Street, facing the Temple Mount. At its peak, about 300 students from all over the world, including the late Rabbis Tzvi Pesach FrankTzvi Pesach Frank
Rabbi Tzvi Pesach Frank was a renowned halachic scholar and the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem for several decades.-Biography:...
, Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog
Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog
Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog , also known as Isaac Herzog, was the first Chief Rabbi of Ireland, his term lasting from 1921 to 1936...
and Aryeh Levin
Aryeh Levin
Rabbi Aryeh Levin, , known as Reb Aryeh, was an Orthodox rabbi dubbed the "Father of Prisoners" for his visits to members of the Jewish underground imprisoned in the Central Prison of Jerusalem in the Russian Compound during the British Mandate...
studied there. The ground floor of the building served as a shop selling vegetables which provided funds for the yeshiva's maintenance.
In the wake of the 1936 Arab riots, the yeshiva relocated to the new city, leaving the building and its contents entrusted to an Arab watchman who faithfully preserved it until the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. This yeshiva was the only one out of approximately 80 synagogues and study halls which wasn't destroyed by Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
during the Jordanian occupation of Jerusalem
Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan
The West Bank and East Jerusalem were occupied by Jordan for a period of nearly two decades starting from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. In 1950, the British extended formal recognition to the union between the Hashemite Kingdom and of that part of Palestine under Jordanian occupation and control -...
. In 1967, the caretaker handed the keys to Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog
Chaim Herzog served as the sixth President of Israel , following a distinguished career in both the British Army and the Israel Defense Forces .-Early life:...
(in his function as the military governor of Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria
Judea and Samaria Area is the official Israeli term roughly corresponding to the territory usually known outside Israel as the West Bank and to the Israeli settlements there that are not governed as part of Jerusalem.-Terminology:...
/the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
), telling him that "the holy place watched over me more than I watched over it" during those years.
Ateret Cohanim
On the first night of Hanukkah, 1978, eight young Orthodox Jews established a new yeshiva on the same premises.Currently headed by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner
Shlomo Aviner
Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner is the rosh yeshiva of the Ateret Yerushalayim yeshiva in Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.-Background:Ha-Rav Shlomo Chaim Ha-Cohain Aviner was born in 5703 in German-occupied...
, it caters for 150 students from all over Israel, all of whom serve in the Israel Defence Force.
The yeshiva was involved in buying property from Arabs in the Old City and its environs, to increase the number of Jews in the area. Since around the year 2000, such activities are done by a separate organization carrying the same name. Currently, Ateret Cohanim reportedly owns more than 70 buildings in the Muslim Quarter, worth an estimated $10 million. The property includes their yeshiva, the building that houses Yeshiva Shuvu Banim, several dormitories, a museum, and about 50 apartment units. Some of the property once belonged to Jews who lived in the Muslim Quarter before they were driven out by pogroms in 1929 and 1936. Ateret Cohanim officials estimate that the cost to purchase the rest of the buildings in the Muslim Quarter is $100 million, with another $100 million for renovations.
In April 2009, members of the group entered and seized a house in East Jerusalem. Ateret Cohanim had previously tried to claim ownership of the same house but was rejected by the courts. A spokesperson for the group claims that they have bought the property.
Notable former students include Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham
Nissan Ben-Avraham
Nissan Ben-Avraham is a Spanish sephardic rabbi who is descended from the Xueta, or forcibly converted, Jews of Majorca, Spain.- Biography :...
.
External links
Further reading
- A United Jerusalem - the story of Ateret Cohanim, Ann Johnson, Ktav pub., 1992, ISBN 0-88125-424-X