Ir David - the ancient City of David, just to the south and below the Temple Mount, the Western Wall Plaza and the rest of the Old City of Jerusalem - continues to flourish, some 2,800 years after its founding. Members of the Elad Association, which has settled the area with 26 Jewish families in the past 15 years, moved into three new complexes over the night. They were granted control of the buildings - located on the slopes of Mt. Zion, just to the west of Ir David proper - after more than two years of quiet but intensive work, and faced no legal problems. Some of the apartments must be renovated before families will be able to live in them.
De'uel (Duly) Basok, a member of Elad, happily told Arutz-7 today, "We entered 15 new apartments in three buildings last night, forming Jewish contiguity between Ir David and the Jewish Quarter of the Old City." The buildings are located off a street known to the locals as Falafel Way, but which appears on maps as Malki Tzedek St. It can be reached when leaving the Western Wall by making a right at Dung Gate and then a quick left into an area that most Jews have long viewed as an Arab area very much off-limits.
Asked what occurred in the past few weeks to make the entry possible, Basok said, "When dealing with Jerusalem, the perspective is not in terms of weeks, but very much longer than that. We have been working on this for 2-3 years, intensively and quietly, purchasing another apartment and another and another, with tremendous patience and strong nerves, and at a certain point, we were able to move into several of them at once... This will bear fruit for tourism in the area, in terms of access to Dung Gate and in terms of the beautiful view from there, and in general will be a great boon for the Jewish presence near the Old City." Basok said that there are waiting lists for people who want to move in, "but those who truly feel connected to ancient Jerusalem, to 3,000 years of history, to the Bible, and to the original location of Jerusalem - will find their way here, and we will receive them warmly and with open arms."
Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane said, "Permit me to ask a pointed question: Even with 15 new families, isn't your new total of 40 families in 15 years just a drop in the ocean?"
Basok: "No, it's not a drop in the ocean; it's a drop in Jerusalem. Secondly, those who know the map of Jerusalem and the mountain of Ir David know that almost the entire eastern hillside is in our hands, including the main paths leading to the Shiloach (Pool of Siloam) and to other ancient sites there. We have had tens of thousands of visitors a year, including more than 100,000 one year - such that this 'drop' is heavily concentrated in a very critical spot. In addition, these 15 families are only the beginning of our Stage Two - from which you can understand that there will be a continuation, leading even to a Stage Three. Our goal is to create an area where Jews can feel totally free to walk around in the area where half the Bible was written. As Rabbi Yehuda HaLevy [12th century poet and author of HaKuzari] wrote, "If I could only stroll around in the places where G-d revealed Himself to your prophets." We want to have Jewish children playing here, yeshivot here - full Jewish life, in total safety. We have not yet reached that stage - although it is already a great place to live. There are some difficulties, such as steep inclines, difficult approaches for cars, and - the most pleasant of the difficulties - the fact that our houses are always open to the hundreds and sometimes thousands of visitors who frequent here. We feel that we are at the center of Jewish nation, and the Jewish nation feels it as well."
De'uel (Duly) Basok, a member of Elad, happily told Arutz-7 today, "We entered 15 new apartments in three buildings last night, forming Jewish contiguity between Ir David and the Jewish Quarter of the Old City." The buildings are located off a street known to the locals as Falafel Way, but which appears on maps as Malki Tzedek St. It can be reached when leaving the Western Wall by making a right at Dung Gate and then a quick left into an area that most Jews have long viewed as an Arab area very much off-limits.
Asked what occurred in the past few weeks to make the entry possible, Basok said, "When dealing with Jerusalem, the perspective is not in terms of weeks, but very much longer than that. We have been working on this for 2-3 years, intensively and quietly, purchasing another apartment and another and another, with tremendous patience and strong nerves, and at a certain point, we were able to move into several of them at once... This will bear fruit for tourism in the area, in terms of access to Dung Gate and in terms of the beautiful view from there, and in general will be a great boon for the Jewish presence near the Old City." Basok said that there are waiting lists for people who want to move in, "but those who truly feel connected to ancient Jerusalem, to 3,000 years of history, to the Bible, and to the original location of Jerusalem - will find their way here, and we will receive them warmly and with open arms."
Arutz-7's Ariel Kahane said, "Permit me to ask a pointed question: Even with 15 new families, isn't your new total of 40 families in 15 years just a drop in the ocean?"
Basok: "No, it's not a drop in the ocean; it's a drop in Jerusalem. Secondly, those who know the map of Jerusalem and the mountain of Ir David know that almost the entire eastern hillside is in our hands, including the main paths leading to the Shiloach (Pool of Siloam) and to other ancient sites there. We have had tens of thousands of visitors a year, including more than 100,000 one year - such that this 'drop' is heavily concentrated in a very critical spot. In addition, these 15 families are only the beginning of our Stage Two - from which you can understand that there will be a continuation, leading even to a Stage Three. Our goal is to create an area where Jews can feel totally free to walk around in the area where half the Bible was written. As Rabbi Yehuda HaLevy [12th century poet and author of HaKuzari] wrote, "If I could only stroll around in the places where G-d revealed Himself to your prophets." We want to have Jewish children playing here, yeshivot here - full Jewish life, in total safety. We have not yet reached that stage - although it is already a great place to live. There are some difficulties, such as steep inclines, difficult approaches for cars, and - the most pleasant of the difficulties - the fact that our houses are always open to the hundreds and sometimes thousands of visitors who frequent here. We feel that we are at the center of Jewish nation, and the Jewish nation feels it as well."