Mishkenot Sha’ananim (Hebrew: משכנות שאננים, lit. Tranquil Abode) was the first Jewish neighborhood built outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, on a hill directly across from Mount Zion.
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Mishkenot Sha'anim was built by Sir Moses Montefiore in 1869 as an almshouse, paid for by the estate of a wealthy Jew from New Orleans, Judah Touro.[1] Since it was outside the walls and open to Bedouin raids, pillage and general banditry rampant in the region at the time, the Jews were reluctant to move in, even though the housing was luxurious compared to the derelict and overcrowded houses in the Old City.[2] As an incentive, people were even paid to live there, and a gate was built around the compound with a heavy door that was locked at night.[3] The name of the neighborhood was taken from Isaiah 32:18: "My people will abide in 'mishkenot sha'ananim' (peaceful habitation), in secure dwellings and in quiet resting places."[4]
According to the original neighborhood charter, inhabitants had to recite daily prayers for their benefactor, Judah Touro, and the almshouse was called by his name.[5]
After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, when the Old City was captured by the Arabs, Mishkenot Sha'ananim became a no man's land due to its proximity to the armistice line with Jordan, and many residents left in the wake of sniper attacks by Jordanian Arab Legionnaires. Only the poorest inhabitants remained, turning the complex into a slum.
In 1973, Mishkenot Sha'ananim was turned into an upscale guesthouse for internationally acclaimed authors, artists and musicians visiting Israel.[6] Apart from guesthouse facilities, it is now a convention center and home of the Jerusalem Music Center.[7] The music center was inaugurated by Pablo Casals shortly before his death.[8]
The Jerusalem Center for Ethics was established in Mishkenot Sha’ananim in 1997. The board of directors is headed by Prof. Yitzhak Zamir, a retired justice of the Israeli Supreme Court.[9]
Coordinates: 31°46′17.05″N 35°13′27.65″E / 31.7714028°N 35.2243472°E
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