Kerem Avraham Information
Kerem Avraham (lit. Avraham's Vineyard) is a neighbourhood near Geula in central Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1855.[1] It is bounded by Malchei Yisrael St, Yechezkel St, Tsefanya St and the Schneller Compound.
History
Kerem Avraham was established by James Finn, British Consul in Ottoman Jerusalem, and his wife Elizabeth Anne Finn. Finn was a devout Christian, who belonged to the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews, but who did not engage in missionary work during his years in Jerusalem.
In 1853, Finn purchased for £250 Karm al-Khalil (Arabic for "Abraham's Vineyard", vineyard of the loved one, which in Hebrew became Kerem Avraham) a barren piece of land outside the walls of the Old City. Kerem Avraham was established as a training farm for Jews in agriculture and to become productive citizens, rather than relying on the halukka, i.e., the distribution of charity from abroad, which was the norm in Jerusalem in those days.[2] [3]
Finn employed Jewish laborers to build the first house there in 1855. Cisterns for water storage were built and a soap factory was established which produced high quality soap sold to tourists. The manager was a Christian named Dunn who believed he was a descendant of the tribe of Dan.[4]
Amos OzIsraeli novelist Amos Oz grew up in Kerem Avraham in the 1940s. Most of the residents of Kerem Avraham today are Orthodox.[3]
References
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kerem Avraham |
- ^ History of Kerem Avraham
- ^ "Jerusalem Architecture - Periods and Styles, European Christian Buildings Outside the Old City Walls, 1855-1918," David Kroyanker, Keter, 1987 (Hebrew) pp.419-21.
- ^ a b JUF News : Men in black
- ^ History of Kerem Avraham
Coordinates: 31°47′24.06″N 35°13′2.04″E / 31.7900167°N 35.2172333°E
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