Neve Yaakov, Not Just A Jerusalem Neighborhood

Today Neve Yaakov is a Jerusalem neighborhood, but its history predates the State of Israel, as the land was purchased by Jews in 1924.

Before it was a neighborhood on the northeastern tip of modern Jerusalem, Neve Yaakov was a Jewish settlement. The land was purchased by Jews from the Arabs of Beit Haninah in 1924. At the time it was one of only two settlements north of the Old City, where most of the Jewish population lived. An economic backwater, the settlement didn't have electricity until 1939.


The impetus for the founding of Neve Yaakov was religious: Its original settlers were followers of Rabbi Yitzchak Yaacov Reines. These followers consisted of about 150 families.


When the Jordanians marched on Jerusalem from the north, the residents of Neve Yaakov fled, fearing an attack. The area remained empty of Jews and was occupied by the Jordanians until the conclusion of the Six Day War in 1967.

I remember being shown the early construction to its present buildings when we spent Shabbatot in Beit HaShiva, Beit Chanina, Jerusalem, in 1970-71.


Here are some recent pictures of Neve Yaakov and Pisgat Zeev, which was built to provide physical continuity to the rest of Jerusalem.