| Mount Scopus | |
|---|---|
| הַר הַצּוֹפִים (Hebrew) جبل المشارف (Arabic) | |
 North view of the main campus and tower of theHebrew University of Jerusalem, 2022 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 826 m (2,710 ft) |
| Coordinates | 31°47′33″N35°14′39″E / 31.79250°N 35.24417°E /31.79250; 35.24417 |
| Geography | |
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| Location | Jerusalem |
| Country |  Israel |
| Parent range | Judaean |
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Mount Scopus[a] is a mountain located inJerusalem with an elevation of 826 meters (2,710 ft) above sea level. Between the1948 Arab–Israeli War and the1967 Arab–Israeli War, it was an internationally protected exclave ofIsrael withinJordan, as it was geographically part of Jordan'sEast Jerusalem, but politically part of Israel'sWest Jerusalem. It is home to the main campus of theHebrew University of Jerusalem andHadassah Medical Center. Since the collapse of theCity Line in 1967, the area now lies within Jerusalem's Israeli municipal boundaries.
The ridge of mountains east of ancient as well as modern Jerusalem offers the best views of the city, which it dominates. Since the main part of the ridge bears the nameMount of Olives, the name "lookout" was reserved for this peak to the northeast of the ancient city. Its name in many languages (Hebrew, Arabic, Greek and Latin) means "lookout." Scopus is a Latinisation of the Greek word for "watcher",skopos. Adding to the multi-layered meaning of the name, it is also said that in times in which the city's Roman orByzantine authorities prohibited Jews from entering Jerusalem, they used to come and look at their former capital from this vantage point.[citation needed]
The Hebrew name, Har HaTzofim, "Lookout Mountain", is not mentioned in theHebrew Bible.[1] It first appears in the form of the Greek "ὁ Σκοπός" (skopós) in the works ofJosephus (The Jewish War 2.528;[2] 5.67,[3] 106,[4] first century CE) in connection toAlexander the Great and the70 CE Roman siege.[1] He also writes that its ancient name wasSapha (Σάφα),[5] which has led to a theory that the hills ofSafa and Marwa nearMecca, which Muslim pilgrims walk or run between, were originally Scopus/Sapha andMount Moriah, and the pilgrimage originally took place at Jerusalem.[6]
TheMishnah (third century CE) mentions "Tzofim" in relation to Jerusalem, but it is not at all certain that it means a particular location or rather any point from which theTemple can be seen.[7]
The ancient name Har Hatzofim or Mount Scopus has been affixed to this particular mountain and its peak in the 20th century without the certainty that it corresponds precisely to whatJosephus had referred to as Mount Scopus.
OverlookingJerusalem, Mount Scopus has been strategically important as a base from which to attack the city since antiquity. During theGreat Jewish Revolt, the12th Roman Legion commanded by Cestius, camped there in 66 CE.[8][9] In 70, at the conclusion of the same war that led to thedestruction of the Jewish Temple, Mount Scopus was used as a base to carry out the final siege of the city by the same 12th Legion, plus the15th and5th Legions, while the10th Legion was positioned on the continuation of the same ridge, known as theMount of Olives.[10] TheCrusaders used it as a base in 1099.[citation needed]
The exact location of the mountain known in the ancient sources as Mount Scopus is not known. It is described as being in the north-eastern part of the ridge that prominently includes the Mount of Olives, which dominates Jerusalem from the east. As the Zionist organisations decided to build a new Jewish institution of higher learning in Jerusalem, which eventually became theHebrew University, they decided that it was unwise to try and ask for donations for a project designed to be built on theMount of Olives, a location with many Christian connotations.[citation needed]
The site chosen for the university did correspond approximately to the description of the ancient Mount Scopus and so it was decided to name that particular peak "Mount Scopus".[citation needed]
In 1948, as the British began letting go of their security responsibilities, the Jewish enclave on Mount Scopus became increasingly cut off from the main sections of Jewish Jerusalem. Access to the hospital and university campus was through a narrow road, 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) long, passing through the Palestinian neighbourhood ofSheikh Jarrah.[11] Arab sniper fire on vehicles moving along the access route became a regular occurrence, and road mines were laid. When food and supplies at the hospital began to dwindle, a large convoy carrying doctors and supplies set out for the besieged hospital, leading to an attack that became known as theHadassah medical convoy massacre.[11] Seventy-eight Jewish doctors, nurses, students, patients, faculty members, andHaganah, and one British soldier were killed in the attack.
After theceasefire agreement of November 30, 1948, which established the division of East and West Jerusalem, Israel controlled the western part of the city while Jordan controlled the east. Several demilitarized "no man's land" zones were established along the border, one of them Mount Scopus.[12] Fortnightly convoys carrying supplies to the university and hospital located in the Israeli part of the demilitarized zone on Mount Scopus were periodically held up by Jordanian troops.[13]
Article VIII of the1949 Armistice Agreements signed by Israel andJordan in April 1949[14] called for:
[T]he normal functioning of the cultural and humanitarian institutions on Mount Scopus and free access thereto; free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on theMount of Olives; resumption of operation of theLatrun pumping station; provision of electricity for theOld City; and resumption of operation of the railroad to Jerusalem.[14]
In January 1958, Francis Urrutia, a representative of the UN Secretary-General, tried to persuade Jordan to abide by Article VIII, but without success.[13] In May 1958, Jordanian soldiers fired on Israeli patrols, killing a UN officer and four Israeli policemen.
Mount Scopus was not a traditional exclave. There were two versions of the demilitarization agreement: one was initialed by Franklyn M. Begley, a UN official; the local Jordanian commander; and the Israeli local commander; while the other was not initialed by the Israeli local commander. Having two versions of the map was the cause of many incidents within the Mount Scopus area.[15]
[W]ithin the Mount Scopus enclave Israel lacked many aspects of the traditional concept of sovereignty: it could not control cross-border movements (interdependence sovereignty); it lacked de jure and de facto control of the area (Vattelian sovereignty) as the area was subject to UN control; and it arguably also lacked recognition on the part of all those who lived within the bounds of the enclave, as it would be presumptuous to assume that the inhabitants of the Arab village ofIssawiya, which was located within the enclave, would have recognized Israel (domestic sovereignty).
Seen from the Israeli perspective, which is easier to adopt due to archival accessibility, one may say that every move that the state of Israel made within the bounds of the enclave was designed to assert its sovereignty while at the same time consolidating and expanding its territory. Put differently, sovereignty – and not its absence – appears to be the fundamental issue that governed all developments throughout the enclave's existence.[16]
Ralph Bunche, assistant to UN Secretary-GeneralDag Hammarskjöld, visited Jerusalem andAmman to find a solution, followed by Hammarskjöld himself, again unsuccessfully.[13] The Mount Scopus Agreement signed on July 7, 1948, regulated the demilitarised zone around Mount Scopus and authorized theUnited Nations Truce Supervision Organization to settle disputes between the Israelis and Jordanians.
Two Jewish-owned plots in Issawiya known as Salomons Garden were purchased by Mrs. V.F. Salomons in 1934 and sold to the Gan Shlomit Company, Ltd. in 1937.[15] It was surrounded by a fence, but clashes erupted when Arabs living on the other side of the fence sought to cultivate land, pickolives, and carry out repairs on homes close to the fence. The Arabs were requested not to work closer than fifty metres from the fence unless prior permission was granted by the Israeli police.[15]
Construction of the Mount Scopus campus of theHebrew University began in 1918 on land purchased from the Gray Hill estate. The dedication ceremony was held in 1925 in the presence of many dignitaries.[17] A design for the university campus by SirPatrick Geddes positioned the university buildings on the slopes of the mount, below a domed, hexagonal Great Hall recalling the Star of David, as a counterpoint to the octagonal Dome of the Rock in the Old City.[18] This plan was never implemented, but Geddes designed the university Library, today the Hebrew University Faculty of Law on Mount Scopus.[18]
By 1947, the university was a solid research and teaching institution with humanities, science, medicine, education and agriculture departments (inRehovot), a national library, a university press and an adult education center. The university had a student population of over 1,000 and 200 faculty members.[17]
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design is Israel's national school of art, founded in 1906 byBoris Schatz. It is named for the Biblical figureBezalel (Hebrew:בְּצַלְאֵל,romanized: Bəṣalēl), who was appointed byMoses to oversee the design and construction of theTabernacle inExodus 35:30-35.[b]
The university's main campus was located on Mount Scopus from 1990 to 2023.[19][20]
TheCave of Nicanor is an ancient burial cave located on Mount Scopus inJerusalem,Israel. Excavations in the cave discovered anossuary referring to "Nicanor the door maker".[21] He has been identified as Nicanor ofAlexandria, who donated one of the gates ofHerod's Temple.[22] The cave is located in theNational Botanic Garden of Israel.
There was a plan to use the Cave of Nicanor as a nationalPantheon ofZionism, but due to circumstances (the area of Mount Scopus after receipt of Israel's independence was an enclave, surrounded by theWest Bank territorial possessions of Jordan), this project was not implemented. Only two of Zionist leaders –Leon Pinsker andMenachem Ussishkin – were interred inside the ancient tomb. After 1948, the national cemetery was created onMount Herzl, closer to the centre ofWest Jerusalem.
In 1939, theHadassah Women's Organization opened ateaching hospital on Mount Scopus[23] in a building designed by architectErich Mendelsohn. In 1948, when the Jordanians occupied East Jerusalem and blockaded the road to Mount Scopus, the hospital could no longer function.[23] In 1960, after running clinics in various locations, the organization opened a medical center on the other side of the city, in Jerusalem'sEin Karem neighborhood.[23]On April 13, 1948, acivilian convoy bringing medical supplies and personnel toHadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus was attacked by Arab forces. 78 Jews, mainly doctors and nurses, were killed in the ambush.[24]
TheHecht Synagogue, a large noticeable building on the south-west corner of the campus, was erected by the family ofMayer Jacob "Chic" Hecht (1928–2006), aRepublicanUnited States Senator fromNevada andU.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas. It is noted for the unique arrangement of theTorah ark and the panoramic view of the Old City from a huge window.[25]
TheNational Botanic Garden of Israel, also called theLand of Israel Botanic Garden, was founded on the grounds of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus by botanistAlexander Eig in 1931. This garden contains one of the largest collections of Israeli uncultivated plants. This was the first home of theJerusalem Biblical Zoo.[26] A cave in the garden has been identified as the Tomb of Nicanor (seeabove).
TheJerusalem British war cemetery is a military cemetery for fallen soldiers of theBritish Empire, later known as theCommonwealth of Nations, inWorld War I inMandatory Palestine. The cemetery is located on the neck of land on the north end of theMount of Olives and west of Mount Scopus.[27]
Buried in the cemetery were 2,515 fallen soldiers, of whom 2,449 were war dead, including 2,218 British casualties. A total of 100 fallen soldiers are unidentified.[27]
A memorial was placed in the cemetery to 3,300 service personnel killed in operations inPalestine andEgypt who have no known grave.[28] In all, commemorated in this cemetery are 5815 service personnel of World War I. No casualties buried in the cemetery died after the war.
Kiryat Menachem Begin, named after former Israeli Prime MinisterMenachem Begin and also known as Kiryat HaMemshala, is a complex of government buildings inEast Jerusalem located betweenSheikh Jarrah in the north, adjacent to Mount Scopus in the east andAmmunition Hill in the west. It serves as home to several government offices, along with themain government complex inGivat Ram. It also includes theNational Headquarters of the Israel Police.
Tabachnik Garden is aNational Park located on the southern slopes of Mount Scopus, next to the Hebrew University. The park preserves some Jewish burial caves from theSecond Temple period and it also contains two smaller cemeteries, the Bentwich Cemetery and one of the cemeteries of the American Colony. Inside the park there are two lookouts, one facing eastward towards theDead Sea and theJudean Desert, the other westward towards theTemple Mount.
TheAmerican Colony Cemetery on Mount Scopus is the main cemetery ofJerusalem's American Colony, located next to the Hebrew University in the Tabachnik Garden. Among those buried there areAnna Spafford andJacob Spafford (1864–1932), born in Ramallah as Jacob Eliahu into a Turkish Jewish family, adoptive son ofHoratio and Anna Spafford and discoverer of theSiloam inscription.[29]
A small cemetery, dedicated toHerbert Bentwich and his family, is located beside the American Colony Cemetery in Tabachnik Garden.
Ammunition Hill was a fortified Jordanian military post in the north-west side of Mount Scopus inJerusalem that was in the northern part ofJordanianEast Jerusalem. It was the site of one of the fiercest battles of theSix-Day War.
AndMoses said to theIsraelites: See,יהוה has singled out by name Bezalel, son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, endowing him with a divine spirit of skill, ability, and knowledge in every kind of craft, and inspiring him to make designs for work in gold, silver, and copper, to cut stones for setting and to carve wood—to work in every kind of designer's craft—and to give directions. He andOholiab son of Ahisamach of thetribe of Dan have been endowed with the skill to do any work—of the carver, the designer, the embroiderer in blue, purple, crimson yarns, and in fine linen, and of the weaver—as workers in all crafts and as makers of designs.
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