Mesilat Zion
מסילת ציון
Mesilat Zion is located in Jerusalem
Mesilat Zion
Mesilat Zion
Coordinates: 31°48′6″N 35°0′41″E / 31.80167°N 35.01139°E / 31.80167; 35.01139
Country Israel
DistrictJerusalem
CouncilMateh Yehuda
AffiliationMoshavim Movement
Founded1950
Founded byYemenite Jews
Population
 (2022)[1]
1,247

Mesilat Zion (Hebrew: מְסִלַּת צִיּוֹן, מסילת ציון, lit. 'Highway of Zion') is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Beit Shemesh with an area of 1,000 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,247.[1]

History

Mesilat Zion, 1964

The moshav was established on the land of the depopulated Palestinian village of Bayt Mahsir in 1950.[2]

The moshav was established as a work village in 1950 by immigrants from Yemen. After a few years the founders left and were replaced by Cochin Jews. The name of the village is symbolic, as it is located near the Burma Road. It symbolizes the breaking of the siege over Jerusalem during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, it is based on verses from the Book of Isaiah, chapter 62, "For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest....Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people....Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation comes."[3]

The Jerusalem Culinary Institute (JCI) founded in 2001 by chef Yochanan Lambiase is located in Mesilat Zion. JCI is the world's first glatt kosher cooking school.[4]

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ a b "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  2. ^ Khalidi, Walid (1992), All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies, p. 277, ISBN 0-88728-224-5
  3. ^ Isaiah 62:1–11
  4. ^ Paz, Shelly (February 9, 2008). "Learning to dish up kosher gourmet food at the Jerusalem Culinary Institute". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
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