Sheikh Jarrah (Arabic: الشيخ جراح) is a neighborhood with Arab majority in Jerusalem on the road to Mount Scopus.

In the late 19th century, Sheikh Jarrah incorporated the Jewish neighborhoods of Shimon HaTzadik, founded in 1876; Nahalat Shimon, founded in 1891, and villas owned by leading Arab families. The Husseini family owned six homes east of Saladin Street. In 1918 there were 18 Arab families living in Sheikh Jarrah. The neighborhood was predominately Jewish until 1948 when the Jews were driven out. ^[1]

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, 78 Jews, mostly doctors and nurses, were killed on their way to Hadassah Hospital when their convoy was attacked by Arab forces as it passed through Sheikh Jarrah, the main road to Mount Scopus. In the wake of these hostilities, Mount Scopus was cut off from West Jerusalem. ^[2]

From 1948, it was a UN-patrolled territory between West Jerusalem and the Israeli enclave on Mount Scopus. In 1956 the Jordanian government and the United Nations settled 28 Palestinian families there. ^[3]As permanent ownership transfer was illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, the area was placed under the jurisdiction of the Jordanian Custodian of Enemy Property. ^[4]

In 1972, the Sephardic Community Committee and the Knesset Yisrael Committee went to court to reclaim their property in Sheikh Jarrah. In 1982, they demanded rent for this property and the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in their favor. The tenants were allowed to remain as long as they paid rent.^[4]

In recent years, private Jewish groups are seeking to regain possession of property in Sheikh Jarrah once owned by Jews and purchase new property. The areas in question are the Shepherd Hotel compound, the Mufti's Vineyard, the building of the el-Ma'amuniya school, the Shimon HaTzadik compound, and the Nahlat Shimon neighborhood. At the same time, foreign investors from Arab states, particularly the Persian Gulf, are seeking to purchase properties to further Palestinian interests.^[2]

Many offers have been made to families in the neighborhood to sell their property to Jewish and Saudi groups. In 2001, Israeli settlers broke into a sealed section of the al-Kurd family's house and refused to leave, claiming the property was owned by Jews.^[5] In 2008, the Jerusalem District Court ruled that the "Shimon Hatzadik" property belonged to the Sephardic Community Committee.

Despite the court ruling that the Arab families had protected tenant status as long as they paid rent, several families refused to pay, ending in their eviction. The al-Kurd family was evicted on November 9, 2008, and Israeli settlers were allowed to move in, sparking a protest by the United States. Muhammad al-Kurd, the head of the family, died eleven days after the eviction. The court ruling was based upon an Ottoman-era bill of sale whose authenticity was allegedly disproved in 2009 when Turkish records showed that the building was only rented to the Jewish group and not sold.^[6] Fawzieh al-Kurd continues to protest the eviction and lives in an encampment in East Jerusalem.^[5][6][7][8]

On August 2, 2009, upon an Israeli court decision, two Palestinian families (al-Hanoun and al-Ghawi), consisting of 53 persons, were evicted from two homes in Sheikh Jarrah. Jewish settlers moved into the houses almost immediately. The Israeli Supreme Court previously ruled that Jewish families had owned the land. The municipality of Jerusalem intends to build a block of 20 apartments in the area. The United Nations coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert H. Serry, said the evictions were "totally unacceptable actions... contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Conventions related to occupied territory. These actions heighten tensions and undermine international efforts to create conditions for fruitful negotiations to achieve peace."^[9] United States State Department spokeswoman Megan Mattson said they constitute violations of Israel's obligations under US-backed "road map" peace plan.^[10] Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat condemned the move, saying "Tonight, while these new settlers from abroad will be accommodating themselves and their belongings in these Palestinian houses, 19 newly homeless children will have nowhere to sleep."^[9] Yakir Segev, a member of Jerusalem's municipal council, countered the condemnations stating "This is a matter of the court. It is a civil dispute between Palestinian families and those of Israeli settlers, regarding who is the rightful owner of this property... Israeli law is the only law we are obliged to obey."^[11]

While Jews maintain they legally own the land based on documents from the Ottoman Empire, Palestinian lawyers claim that they have a document from Turkish archives that says the Jews who claim to own the land are not the rightful owners.^[12] As such, the Palestinian families and their supporters maintain that the legal decision is based on forgeries and should be reversed.^[13][14] The lawyer of Israeli families claim that the land deeds were checked by many courts and found to be authentic.^[12]

The tomb of Simon the Righteous is located in Sheikh Jarrah.

The Shepherd Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah was originally a villa built for the Mufti of Jerusalem. The mufti, who never lived in it, transferred property rights to his personal secretary, George Antonius and his wife, Katy. ^[15] After the death of George Antonius in 1942, the house became a meeting place for Jerusalem's elite, although it was off-limits to Jews. While living in the house, Katy Antonius had a highly-publicized affair with the commander of the British forces in Palestine, Evelyn Barker. In 1947, the Jewish underground Irgun blew up a house nearby. Antonius left the house, and a regiment of Scottish Highlanders was stationed there. ^[16] After the 1948 War, it was taken over by the Jordanian authorities and turned into a pilgrim hotel. In 1985, it was bought by the American Jewish millionaire Irving Moskowitz and continued to operate as a hotel, renamed the Shefer Hotel. After the Israeli border police used it as base for several years, Moskowitz announced plans to build 20 housing units on the site. ^[17]

31°47′40.50″N 35°13′54.75″E / 31.7945833°N 35.2318750°E / 31.7945833; 35.2318750