Ramot Eshkol
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Ramot Eshkol is a neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel established after the Six-Day War in 1967. It is rapidly becoming one of Jerusalem's most sought-after locations. It is close to Sanhedria Murchevet and the Ramat Eshkol shopping center and within walking distance to the Western Wall. In recent years it has become a popular suburb for young religious families especially for those originating from the United States and Canada, and most recently, the United Kingdom.
[edit] History
In 1966, the border with Jordan ran parallel to Shmuel Hanavi Street, some 100 meters from the first row of houses. The holes in the roof parapets that were used as spy-holes overlooking the Jordanian fortifications still exist today. Beyond was a no man's land and the bunkers and fortifications of Givat Hatchmoshet – Ammunition Hill – the site of fierce battles during the Six Day War, now commemorated in a museum.
Construction began in 1968 on Sderot Eshkol (Eshkol Boulevard), named for Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol. [1]
The officer in charge of the Engineering Corps – Israel Levitt – cleared the mines on which the Etzion Gaver cul-de-sac now stands. As he was also a trained architect, the Ministry of Housing gave him the task of designing the Etzion Gaver houses – numbers 1, 2, and 3 (Building #3 was originally numbered 27 by the Ministry of Housing.
In January 1970, the first occupants moved into Etzion Gaver #3. It was midwinter; there were no roads and sole access was through the mud. The nearest bus was in Shmuel Hanavi and nobody wanted to live near Arab Shuafat. The result was that the conditions for buying an apartment in Ramat Eshkol were excellent.
Government policy at that time was to build a crescent of housing, starting in Shmuel Hanavi, continuing via French Hill and linking up with new construction at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem on Mount Scopus.
A new bus line, route number 9, was put into service to link the Hebrew University campus on Har Hatzofim with the University campus at Givat Ram. This was the route number of the bus attacked in 1947 by Jordanian Legionaries, in which doctors and nurses traveling back to Jerusalem were killed.
French Hill was named after the British officer who wrested it from the Turks in World War One - W. C. French. The Israeli authorities later named the neighborhood Givat Shapiro (after the then Housing Minister).
While Ramat Eshkol was under construction, building also began in Givat Hamivtar. Plots were raffled off among the buyers, who built detached homes there. A time limit was imposed on construction and access was difficult. Even the postman had to ask where Sheshet Hayamim Street was, since the only access was via a muddy track.
Private homes were also built on Rehov Ramat Hagolan in Ramat Eshkol based on the lottery method.
[edit] Landmarks and parks
After the Six-Day War, Ammunition Hill was restored and turned into a park and memorial site. The first minyan was held in the air raid shelter of building number 27 (Etzion Gaver 3) before the completion of a small synagogue. The main Sefardi and Ashkenazi synagogues were built below the level of the main buildings of Ramat Eshkol by order of the then mayor Teddy Kollek, so that they would be less visible.
There are two parks in Ramat Eshkol. One is dedicated to Raoul Wallenberg adjacent to the small shopping centre in Ma'avar HaMitle. He was a Swedish diplomat who saved many Jews during World War two and was incarcerated after the war by the Russians. No trace of him has been seen since.
The biggest park in Gan HaChamishah Asar behind Etzion Gaver. This is named after the fifteen soldiers killed in one day in 1969 during the War of Attrition against Egypt. A plaque was erected in their memory alongside Pardess School.
The Eshkolot Tomb is located near Rehov Paran. In the time of the Mishna, bodies would be brought from the Old City and interred in small holes in the rock for a period of about 11 months. After this, the remaining bones were transferred to a sarcophagues. The Eshkolot Tomb is one of these and was discovered during excavation for housing on the early seventies. It is named after the bunch of grapes over the entrance. The Sanhedrin Tombs are located across from Shaul Hamelech.
