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Silwan Information

Silwan (Arabic: سلوان‎) is a predominantly Arab village adjacent to the Old City of Jerusalem, included in Jerusalem municipality borders, extending along the Kidron Valley and running alongside the eastern slopes of Jabal al-Mukaber. Silwan has a population of roughly 45,000.[citation needed]

Contents

Etymology

Siloam is an ancient Greek name derived from the more ancient Hebrew: Shiloah, the Arabic: Silwan, was in turn derived from the Greek, Siloam.

Geography

Historically, Silwan was located on the eastern slope of the Kidron Valley, above the outlet of the Gihon Spring opposite the City of David. The villagers took advantage of the arable land in the Kidron Valley which was once part of King Solomon's Royal Gardens[citation needed] to grow vegetables for market in Jerusalem.[1] Nineteenth century travelers describe it as verdant and cultivated,[2][3] and perched on a steep, slippery scarp cut into hillside.[4][5]

History

Housing built atop ancient Judean tombs

Ancient period

Bibical sources describe Shiloah area as "the waters of Shiloah go softly" (from the Gihon spring) (Isaiah 8:6) and "the Pool of Siloam" (Nehemiah 3:15) watering King Solomon's Royal Garden and later a staging area for Jewish pilgrims during the festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot wherein the spring-fed pools were used to wash and purify the supplicants who ascend the Great Staircase to the Temple Mount while singing hymns based on Psalms.

Talmudic sources describe Shiloah as the center of Eretz Israel (Zamib i 5). On Sukkot water was brought from the Pool of Siloamto the Temple and poured upon the altar (Suk v. 1.) and the priests also drank of this water (Ab. N. R. xxxv).

Necropolis of the biblical kingdom

The village is built atop and around the necropolis of the Biblical kingdom.[6][7][8] The necropolis, or ancient cemetery, is an archaeological site of major significance. it contains fifty rock-cut tombs of distinguished calibre, assumed to be the burial places of the highest ranking officials of the Judean kingdom.[6] Tomb inscriptions are in Hebrew.[6] The "most famous" of the ancient rock-cut tombs in Silwan is finely-carved the one known as the Tomb of Pharaoh's daughter.[6] Another notable tomb, called the Tomb of the Royal Steward is now incorporated into a modern-period house.[6] The ancient inscription informs us that it is the final resting place of ""...yahu who is over the house."[6] The first part of the Hebrew name is effaced, but it refers to a Judean royal steward or chamberlain.[6] It is now in the collection of the British Museum.[6]

All of the tombs were long since emptied, and their contents removed.[6] A great deal of destruction was done to the tombs over the centuries by quarrying and by their conversion for use as housing, both by monks in the Christian period, when some where used as churches, and later by Muslim villagers.[8] "When the Arab village was built; tombs were destroyed, incorporated in houses or turned into water cisterns and sewage dumps."[8]

Muslim period

Local folklore indicates that the construction of Silwan originated with the arrival of the Rashidun Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab. According to one resident, the Greek proprietors of Jerusalem were impressed by the humble majesty of the Caliph as he entered on foot while his servant rode in on camel, and presented him with the key to the city. The Caliph thereafter granted the wadi to "Khan Silowna," an agricultural community of cave dwellers living around the valley spring.[9]

Silwan is mentioned as "Sulwan" by the Arab writer and traveller al-Muqaddasi. In 985, he wrote "The village of Sulwan is a place on the outskirts of the city [Jerusalem]. Below the village of 'Ain Sulwan (Spring of Siloam), of fairly good water, which irrigates the large gardens which were given in bequest (Waqf) by the Khalif 'Othman ibn 'Affan for the poor of the city. Lower down than this, again, is Job's Well (Bir Ayyub). It is said that on the Night of 'Arafat the water of the holy well Zamzam, at Makkah, comes underground to the water of the Spring (of Siloam). The people hold a festival here on that evening."[10]

In 1596, Ayn Silwan appeared in Ottoman tax registers.[11]

In 1834, during a large-scale peasants' rebellion against Ibrahim Pasha,[12] thousands of rebels infiltrated Jerusalem through ancient underground sewage channels leading to the farm fields of the village of Silwan.[13] A traveler to Palestine in 1883, T. Skinner, wrote that the olive groves near Silwan were a gathering place for Muslims on Fridays.[14]

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 of Olives.[15] Jewish visitors to the Western Wall were also required to pay a tax to the inhabitants of Silwan, which by 1863 was 10,000 Piastres.[16]

Yemenite village

Housing units built on Silwan's barren hillside for poor Jews in the 1880s, to the south of the Arab settlement existing at that time

In 1882 Jewish families arrived in Jerusalem from Yemen.[17] Due to the lack of room in the Old City one group led by Yosef Masud decided to move to its outskirts.[18][17] By 1884 they had settled into new stone houses at the south end of the Arab village, built for them by a Jewish charity called Ezrat Niddahim.[17] Up to 200 Yemenite Jews lived in the newly built neighborhood, called Kfar Hashiloach (Hebrew: כפר השילוח‎) or the "Yemenite Village."[17] Construction costs were kept low by using the Shiloach spring as a water source instead of digging cisterns. An early 20th century travel guide writes: In the "village of Silwan, east of Kidron … some of the fellah dwellings [are] old sepulchers hewn in the rocks. During late years a great extension of the village southward has sprung up, owing to the settlement here of a colony of poor Jews from Yemen, etc. many of whom have built homes on the steep hillside just above and east of Bir Eyyub."[19]

During the 1921 Jaffa riots, Jewish resident of Silwan were attacked, resulting in a few deaths and destroyed homes.[17][dubious – discuss] In the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine many of the Jewish residents fled or were forced out of Silwan,[citation needed] and in 1938, the remaining Yemenite Jews in Silwan were evacuated by the British authorities.[20][21][22] According to documents in the custodian office and real estate and project advancement expert Edmund Levy, the homes of the Yemenite Jews were occupied by Arab families without compensation.[23][24][25] After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Silwan was annexed by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which expropriated land owned by the Jews.[26][27] It remained under Jordanian occupation until 1967, when Israel captured the Old City and surrounding region. Until then, the village had delegates in the Jerusalem City Council.

Urban growth

At the time of the 1922 census of Palestine, "Selwan (Kfar Hashiloah)" had a population of 1,699 Muslims, 153 Jews and 49 Christians.[28] In the same year, Baron Edmond de Rothschild bought several acres of land there and transferred it to the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association.[29] By the time of the 1931 census, Silwan had 630 occupied houses and a population of 2,553 Muslims, 124 Jews and 91 Christians (the last including the Latin, Greek and St. Stephens convents).[30]

Silwan from Abu Tor, looking towards the separation barrier near the Old City

In the twentieth century, Silwan grew northward towards Jerusalem, expanding from a small farming village into an urban neighborhood. Modern Arab Silwan encompasses Old Silwan (generally to the south), the Yemenite village (to the north), and the once-vacant land between. Today Silwan follows the ridge of the southern peak of the Mount of Olives to the east of the Kidron Valley, from the ridge west of the Ophel up to the southern wall of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.

Silwan has also expanded onto designated greenspace on the floor of the Kidron Valley; a highly controversial proposal would restore the part of the valley now occupied by illegally constructed housing as a park to be called the Garden of the King.[31] UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk said of the plan that "international law does not allow Israel to bulldoze Palestinian homes to make space for the mayor’s project to build a garden, or anything else," adding that the plan "should be seen within the context of Israel’s persistent, systematic approach to driving Palestinians out of East Jerusalem".[32]

Modern Jewish settlement

The City of David (Hebrew: Ir David), the archeological site of the original city of Jerusalem, is located within Silwan.[33] Since Israel gained control over East Jerusalem in 1967, Jewish organizations have sought to re-establish a Jewish presence in Silwan. In 1987, the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations wrote to the Secretary-General to inform him of Israeli settlement activity; his letter noted that an Israeli company had taken over two Palestinian houses in the neighborhood of al-Bustan after evicting their occupants, claiming the houses were its property.[34] Wadi Hilwe, an area of Silwan close to the western wall of the Old City, wherein lies the neighborhood of Al-Bustan, has been a focus of Jewish settlement.

Ir David Foundation, a settlement organization and the Ateret Cohanim organization, are working to increase Jewish settlement in Silwan in cooperation with the Committee for the Renewal of the Yemenite Village in Shiloah.[33][35][36] In 2003, Ateret Cohanim set a precedent in the neighborhood, building the seven-story Beit Yehonatan development (named after Jonathan Pollard) without a permit; four years later, the courts ordered the eviction of the tenants,[37] but after a few months the city of Jerusalem approved the construction retroactively.[38] Building on ongoing housing construction in conjunction with archaeological excavation, in 2008 the Jerusalem municipality began "the process of approving a plan for a new housing complex, including a synagogue, in the heart of the Arab neighborhood of Silwan".[39]

Housing demolition and squatters

In the 1980s, Haaretz reports, the Housing Ministry "then under Ariel Sharon, worked hard to seize control of property in the Old City and in the adjacent neighborhood of Silwan by declaring them absentee property. The suspicion arose that some of the transactions were not legal; an examination committee...found numerous flaws." In particular, affidavits claiming that Arab homes in the area were absentee properties, filed by Jewish organizations, were accepted by the Custodian without any site visits or other follow-up on the claims.[40] Under the cover of the Absentee Property Law, and indirect land sales, Jews have seized Arab homes while their occupants were still living there.[41] In other cases, the Jewish National Fund has signed protected tenant agreements with Ir David Foundation (Elad), allowing the settler group to engage in construction without going through the tender process.[42]

In 2005, the Israeli government planned to demolish 88 Arab homes in al-Bustan neighborhood built without permits[43] but they were not found illegal in a municipal court.[44] As of 2004, more than 50 Jewish families live in the area,[45] some in homes acquired from Arabs who claim they did not know they were selling their home to Jews,[46] some in Beit Yehonatan.

Rabbis for Human Rights accused ElAd of creating a "method of expelling citizens from their properties, appropriating public areas, enclosing these lands with fences and guards, and banning the entrance of the local residents...under the protection of a private security force."[47] The Israeli organization Ir Amim expressed concern that "Jewish presence in the heart of Palestinian centers in East Jerusalem creates facts on the ground that may hurt the possibility of any future peace agreement..." Ir Amim was also concerned that the presence of security forces in Palestinian neighborhoods would be increased to provide security for Jewish settlers at a time when the atmosphere was already tense."[48]

Illegal Arab construction

According the State Comptroller’s report, there were 130 illegal structures in Silwan in 2009, a tenfold increase since 1967. When enforcement of the building code began in al-Bustan in 1995, thirty illegal structures were found, mostly old residential buildings.[49] By 2004, the number of illegal structures rose to 80. The municipality launched legal proceedings against 43 and demolished 10, but these were soon replaced by new buildings.[49]

Archaeological excavation

The ridge to the west of the traditional village of Silwan, known as the City of David, is believed to be the original Bronze Age and Iron Age site of Jerusalem. Archaeological exploration began in the 19th-century and is ongoing. Vacant during most of the Ottoman period, expansion onto this ridge by Jewish families coming out of Jerusalem and Arab families from Silwan began in the late 19th-century. It is now claimed as an integral part of Arab Silwan.[50] Islamic-era skeletons discovered in the course of excavations were removed from the site without informing the Muslim authorities and have disappeared.[51] ElAd was accused of conducting archaeological digs on Palestinian properties.[52] According to the London Times, "Jewish settler groups are digging an extensive tunnel network under Muslim areas of Jerusalem's Old City while building a ring of settlements around it to bolster their claim to the disputed city in any future peace deal."[53] Elad began the City of David tunnels without applying for a permit from the Jerusalem municipality.[54] In April 2008, the Israeli High Court issued a temporary order staying further construction.[55][56] With the insertion of permanent steel girder members for support in 2009, the corridor tunnel transects an ancient Roman cardo (covered street) and opens to a large stone room once used as a synagogue.

References

  1. ^ Cyclopaedia of Biblical , Theological and Ecclesistical Literature, John McClintock, Harper and Brothers, 1889, p. 745
  2. ^ Handbook to the Mediterranean: Its Cities, Coasts and Islands, Robert Lambert Playfair, John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, 1892, p. 70.
  3. ^ Biblical Geography and History, Charles Foster Kent , 1911 , p. 219
  4. ^ The Holy Land and the Bible: A Book of Scripture Illustrations, Cunningham Geikie , 1888 , New York, James Pott & Co. Publishers p.558
  5. ^ A photograph of the village taken between 1853 and 1857 by James Graham can be found on page 35 of Picturing Jerusalem; James Graham and Mendel Diness, Photographers, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2007.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i [1]"Silwan, Jerusalem: The Survey of the Iron Age Necropolis," David Ussishkin, Tel Aviv University webpage.
  7. ^ Bible Encyclopedia entry: Siloam International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
  8. ^ a b c 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,
  9. ^ Jeffrey Yas."(Re)designing the City of David: Landscape, Narrative and Archaeology in Silwan"; Jerusalem Quarterly, Winter 2000, Issue 7
  10. ^ Muk., 171. Quoted in Guy le Strange: Palestine under the Moslems, 1890, p. 221.
  11. ^ Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth and Kamal Abdulfattah (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. p. 114.
  12. ^ Jerusalem (Israel) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  13. ^ Jerusalem in the 19th Century: The Old City Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, Part II, Chapter One: Ottoman Rule, pp. 90, 109, Yad Ben Zvi Institute & St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984
  14. ^ Jerusalem in the 19th Century: The Old City Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, Part II, Chapter Two: The Muslim Community, p. 133, Yad Ben Zvi Institute & St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984
  15. ^ Menashe Har-El (April 2004). Golden Jerusalem. Gefen Publishing House Ltd. p. 244. ISBN 9789652292544. http://books.google.com/books?id=9Z2cFY9iGqgC&pg=PA244. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  16. ^ Islam and Dhimmitude: Where Civilizations Collide. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 2002. p. 86. ISBN 9780838639429. http://books.google.com/books?id=n4kTdYgwQPkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
  17. ^ a b c d e Man, Nadav (01.09.10). "Behind the lens of Hannah and Efraim Degani – part 7". Ynet. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3831654,00.html.
  18. ^ Nini, Yehuda. The Jews of the Yemen, 1800-1914. Taylor & Francis. p. 206. ISBN 9783718650415. http://books.google.com/books?id=-XSS35Ax7W0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
  19. ^ Cook's Handbook for Palestine and Syria, Thomas Cook Ltd., 1907, p. 105
  20. ^ Friedland, Roger; Hecht, Roger (2000). To Rule Jerusalem. University of California Press. p. 436. ISBN 9780520220928. http://books.google.com/books?id=EKRlEPFc038C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
  21. ^ Shragai, Nadav (January 4, 2004). "11 Jewish families move into J'lem neighborhood of Silwan". Haaretz. http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/11-jewish-families-move-into-j-lem-neighborhood-of-silwan-1.118528.
  22. ^ Palestine Post, August 15, 1938, p. 2
  23. ^ Documents show Arabs illegally obtained Jewish homes in Silwan, Bill Hutman, Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  24. ^ [2], Nissan Ratzlav-Katz, Arutz Sheva. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  25. ^ WHO OWNS THE LAND?, Gail Lichtman, Jerusalem Post. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  26. ^ Fischbach, Michael R. (2000). State, Society, and Land in Jordan. Brill Publishers. p. 193. ISBN 9789004119123. http://books.google.com/books?id=_WAgDMWsyb8C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
  27. ^ Terra Incognita: East Jerusalem's lost years, Seth Frantzman, Jerusalem Post Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  28. ^ J. B. Barron, ed (1923). Palestine: Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine. Table VII.
  29. ^ Zionist Organization of America; Jewish Agency for Israel. Economic Dept (1997). Israel yearbook and almanac. IBRT Translation/Documentation Ltd.. p. 102. http://books.google.com/books?id=56xtAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 14 October 2010.
  30. ^ E. Mills, ed (1932). Census of Palestine 1931. Population of Villages, Towns and Administrative Areas. Jerusalem: Government of Palestine. p. 43.
  31. ^ [3] Gan Hamelech residents wary of Barkat’s redevelopment plan, Abe Selig, Feb. 16, 2010, Jerusalem Post.
  32. ^ Demolitions, new settlements in East Jerusalem could amount to war crimes – UN expert 29 June 2010. UN News Centre
  33. ^ a b Bronner, Yigal (1 May 2008). "Archaeologists for hire". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/01/archaeologistsforhire.
  34. ^ "Letter dated 16 October 1987 from the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General" UN General Assembly Security Council
  35. ^ 11 Jewish families move into J'lem neighborhood of Silwan – Haaretz – Israel News
  36. ^ The Guardian
  37. ^ Meron Rapoport "The battle over settling Silwan simmers" Haaretz, June 12, 2007
  38. ^ "Jerusalem Approves ‘Beit Yehonatan’ in Shiloach" Arutz Sheva, October 15, 2007
  39. ^ Akiva Eldar."Plan to put synagogue in heart of East Jerusalem likely to be approved"; Haaretz, May 20, 2008
  40. ^ Meron Rapoport.Land lords; Haaretz, January 20, 2005
  41. ^ Joel Greenburg."Settlers Move Into 4 Homes in East Jerusalem"; New York Times, June 9, 1998
  42. ^ Meron Rapoport."The republic of Elad"; Haaretz, April 23, 2006 [retrieved 27-05-2010]
  43. ^ publisher=Ha'aretz "Jerusalem demolitions may spark repeat of 1996 riots". 2009-03-10. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1069913.html publisher=Ha'aretz. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  44. ^ "Jerusalem Municipality plans to demolish 88 homes in Silwan"; Al Ayyam Newspaper, June 1, 2005
  45. ^ "Settlement Timeline". Foundation for Middle East Peace. July–August 2004. Archived from the original on 2006-07-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20060719172832/http://www.fmep.org/reports/vol14/no4/07-settlement_timeline.html. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  46. ^ Rapoport, Meron (2006-06-09). "The Maraga tapes". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 2006-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20060616203722/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/724671.html. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  47. ^ RHR statement
  48. ^ Ir Amim's Position
  49. ^ a b Illegal structures in Silwan multiply by ten in last 43 yrs
  50. ^ A photograph of the vacant ridge taken between 1853 and 1857 by James Grahm can be found on page 31 of Picturing Jerusalem; James Graham and Mendel Diness, Photographers, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2007.
  51. ^ Meron Rapaport."Islamic-era skeletons 'disappeared' from Elad-sponsored dig" Haaretz, June 1, 2008
  52. ^ Haaretz on Rabbis for Human Rights arrest
  53. ^ James Hider."Settlers dig tunnels around Jerusalem"; The Times Online, March 1, 2008
  54. ^ Meron Rapoport."City of David tunnel excavation proceeds without proper permit"; Haaretz, February 5th, 2007
  55. ^ "Israeli Supreme Court Intervenes in Silwan". Rabbis for Human Rights. 2008-03-23. http://www.rhr-na.org/news/israeli-supreme-court-intervenes-silwan. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  56. ^ "Israeli High Court orders an end to excavations in Silwan"; IMEMC, March 18, 2008

Coordinates: 31°46′12″N 35°14′13″E / 31.77°N 35.237°E

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See also: Ring Neighborhoods

Categories: Neighbourhoods of Jerusalem | Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem | Siloam | Mausoleums used as housing | Archaeological sites in Jerusalem | Cemeteries in Jerusalem

 

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