French Hill
Encyclopedia
French Hill also Giv'at Shapira is a neighborhood in northeastern Jerusalem. It is located on territory occupied during the Six-Day War
in 1967, later annexed to Israel under the Jerusalem Law
in 1980. The United Nations Security Council declared this law a violation of international law, and states that the Council will not recognize this law, and calls on member states to accept the decision of the council. The International Court of Justice stated in its 2004 Advisory Opinion that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem and therefore also in French Hill) have been established in breach of international law. The European Union
considers French Hill to be an illegal settlement in East Jerusalem
. Many Hebrew University of Jerusalem
faculty members and students live in French Hill due to its proximity to the university's Mount Scopus
campus.
who is said to have had his headquarters on this hill. However, French never served in this region. According to Israeli geographer Zev Vilnay
, the land belonged to the Catholic Monastery of St. Anne, whose monks hailed mainly from France. If the neighborhood had been named for General French, the correct name in Hebrew would have been Giv'at French.
ian rule, the area was a military outpost. According to Arab historian Walid Khalidi
, a small number of Arabs from Lifta
moved to the area prior to 1967. In 1969, construction began on a new residential neighborhood to create a land link between West Jerusalem and the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus, which had been an Israeli enclave in Jordanian territory before the war. The official name of the new neighborhood was Giv'at Shapira. Another section of French Hill, Tzameret HaBira, was populated mainly by American
immigrants.
of 10.9 persons per dunam (10,900 people/km²), while Tzameret HaBira is less crowded, with 4.7 persons per dunam (4,700 people/km²). The population is mostly Jewish, including a large number of immigrants from South America
and the former Soviet Union
. In recent years, an increasing number of Arabs have been buying apartments in the neighborhood. The ethnic mix is much more diverse than in most other Jewish areas in the city, partly due to the proximity of the Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.
congregation. The first elementary school in Israel run by the Conservative movement, the Frankel School, was established in Givat Shapira.
has been the site of eleven Palestinian terror attacks. According to an article by the US News and World Report, "the busy thoroughfare, which divides the Jewish neighborhood of French Hill from the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat
, is the most accessible corner in the city for a West Bank terrorist looking for a crowd of Israelis." In 2004, members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade shot and killed George Khoury
, an Israeli Arab economics student, while he was jogging in French Hill.
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 June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
in 1967, later annexed to Israel under the Jerusalem Law
Jerusalem Law
The Jerusalem Law is a common name of Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel passed by the Knesset on July 30, 1980 .It began as a private member's bill proposed by Geula Cohen, whose original text stated that "the integrity and unity of greater Jerusalem in its boundaries after the Six-Day War...
in 1980. The United Nations Security Council declared this law a violation of international law, and states that the Council will not recognize this law, and calls on member states to accept the decision of the council. The International Court of Justice stated in its 2004 Advisory Opinion that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (including East Jerusalem and therefore also in French Hill) have been established in breach of international law. The European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
considers French Hill to be an illegal settlement 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...
. Many Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
faculty members and students live in French Hill due to its proximity to the university's Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus
Mount Scopus , جبل المشهد , جبل الصوانة) is a mountain in northeast Jerusalem. In the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Mount Scopus became a UN protected Jewish exclave within Jordanian-occupied territory until the Six-Day War in 1967...
campus.
Etymology
The source of the name French Hill is unclear. According to local legend, it was named after a British general, John French, 1st Earl of YpresJohn French, 1st Earl of Ypres
Field Marshal John Denton Pinkstone French, 1st Earl of Ypres, KP, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCMG, ADC, PC , known as The Viscount French between 1916 and 1922, was a British and Anglo-Irish officer...
who is said to have had his headquarters on this hill. However, French never served in this region. According to Israeli geographer Zev Vilnay
Zev Vilnay
Zev Vilnay was an Israeli geographer, author and lecturer.-Biography:Zev Vilnay was born in Kishinev. He moved to Palestine with his parents at the age of six and grew up in Haifa. He served as a military topographer in the Haganah, and later in the Israel Defense Forces. Vilnay and his wife...
, the land belonged to the Catholic Monastery of St. Anne, whose monks hailed mainly from France. If the neighborhood had been named for General French, the correct name in Hebrew would have been Giv'at French.
History
Under JordanJordan
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...
ian rule, the area was a military outpost. According to Arab historian Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi
Walid Khalidi is an Oxford University-educated Palestinian historian who has written extensively on the Palestinian exodus. He is General Secretary and co-founder of the Institute for Palestine Studies, established in Beirut in December 1963 as an independent research and publishing center...
, a small number of Arabs from Lifta
Lifta
Lifta was an Arab village on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Its population fled during the Arab-Jewish hostilities of 1947/48 and the efforts to relieve the Siege of Jerusalem . The village and spring for which it is named are now a park on the hillside between the western entrance to Jerusalem and...
moved to the area prior to 1967. In 1969, construction began on a new residential neighborhood to create a land link between West Jerusalem and the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus, which had been an Israeli enclave in Jordanian territory before the war. The official name of the new neighborhood was Giv'at Shapira. Another section of French Hill, Tzameret HaBira, was populated mainly by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
immigrants.
Demographics
French Hill has a population of 6,631. Giv'at Shapira has a population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 10.9 persons per dunam (10,900 people/km²), while Tzameret HaBira is less crowded, with 4.7 persons per dunam (4,700 people/km²). The population is mostly Jewish, including a large number of immigrants from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the former Soviet Union
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
. In recent years, an increasing number of Arabs have been buying apartments in the neighborhood. The ethnic mix is much more diverse than in most other Jewish areas in the city, partly due to the proximity of the Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus.
Schools and religious institutions
French Hill has 9 synagogues. One of them, Kehillat Ramot Zion , is a ConservativeConservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
congregation. The first elementary school in Israel run by the Conservative movement, the Frankel School, was established in Givat Shapira.
Arab-Israeli conflict
The French Hill intersection which connects northern Jerusalem to Maale Adumim and the Dead SeaDead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
has been the site of eleven Palestinian terror attacks. According to an article by the US News and World Report, "the busy thoroughfare, which divides the Jewish neighborhood of French Hill from the Arab neighborhood of Shuafat
Shuafat
Shu'fat , also Shuafat and Sha'fat, is a Palestinian Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, forming part of north-eastern Jerusalem. Located on the old Jerusalem-Ramallah road about three miles north of the Old City, Shuafat has a population of 35,000 residents...
, is the most accessible corner in the city for a West Bank terrorist looking for a crowd of Israelis." In 2004, members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade shot and killed George Khoury
George Khoury
George Elias Khoury was a Palestinian Christian murdered by a Palestinian terrorist while jogging in the neighborhood of French Hill in Jerusalem...
, an Israeli Arab economics student, while he was jogging in French Hill.