Nahalat Shiv'a


Nahalat Shiv'a is a former courtyard neighborhood in Jerusalem, Israel. It was the third neighborhood built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem in the 1860s. Today it is a crowded pedestrian promenade lined with sidewalk cafes. It is considered part of the larger Nachlaot neighborhood.

History

Nahalat Shiv'a was the third residential neighborhood built outside the city walls. It was founded in 1869 as a cooperative effort by seven Jerusalem families who pooled their funds to purchase the land and build homes. There are two different stories about the actual process of buying the land, Yosef Rivlin's and Yoel Moshe Salomon's . Rivlin claimed he raised the money on a trip to Russia in 1859, while Solomon claimed that it was his idea. Lots were cast and founder Yosef Rivlin won the right to build the first house in the neighborhood.. The other seven founders were Yehoshua Yellin, Michel Hacohen, Binyamin Salant, Haim Halevi and Aryeh Leib Horowitz. In 1873, milk cows were imported from Amsterdam and a dairy was opened in Nahalat Shiv'a. A carriage service to Jaffa Gate was inaugurated that summer.
By 1875 there were 50 families in Nahalat Shiv'a. In 1918, there were 861 people in Nahalat Shiv'a living and 253 houses.
The Safrai Gallery was founded in Nahalat Shiv'a in 1935.

Cultural landmarks

is located in Nachalat Shiv'a; it is built into a series of the neighborhood's historic stone houses.. The Museum entrance is at #20 Yosef Rivlin Street, the house that was the home of neighborhood founder Yosef Rivlin, great-grandfather of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

Terrorist incidents

On October 9, 1994, Hamas carried out a shooting spree in Nahalat Shiv'a, using two Palestinian Authority policemen defectors. Two people were killed and 16 wounded. Ma'ayan Levy, 19, and Samir Mugrabi, 35, were killed in the attack.