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42-473: Mamilla Mall , also called Alrov Mamilla Avenue , is an upscale shopping street and the only open-air mall in West Jerusalem . Located northwest of Jaffa Gate , the mall consists of a 2,000-foot (610 m) pedestrian promenade called Alrov Mamilla Avenue lined by 140 stores, restaurants, and cafes, and office space on upper floors. It sits atop a multi-story parking garage for 1,600 cars and buses, and

84-525: A Chabad candle-lighting ceremony takes place here nightly. The mall has become a popular site for flash mobs , including those staged by nonprofit organizations to raise awareness for their activities. In August 2013 the Shin Bet uncovered a plot by Hamas members from Ramallah and Jerusalem to bomb the Mamilla Mall on Rosh Hashana ; two of the suspects were employed as maintenance workers at

126-664: A "supermarket-style" pharmacy. There are numerous chain stores selling fashions and cosmetics, as well as gift and souvenir stores. The Gap store, which opened in the mall in August 2009, is the chain's first store in Israel. Among the cafes are branches of Café Rimon , Aroma Espresso Bar , and Spaghettim. Due to the diversity of retail establishments, the mall attracts a wide cross-section of Israeli residents and tourists. These include secular and religious Jews, Christians, Muslims, Armenian monks, young couples, families, and students. At

168-572: A bus terminal. All of Mamilla's historic buildings except for the Convent of St. Vincent de Paul would be demolished under the plan. The stated goal was to create a "living bridge" connecting the Old City with the New City of Jerusalem. While the plan was approved by the city in 1972, it aroused keen opposition from preservationist, environmentalist, and religious groups. In response to the outcry,

210-618: A bus terminal. Designed by Moshe Safdie and developed by Alrov Properties and Lodgings Ltd. of Tel Aviv , the mall incorporates the facades of 19th-century buildings from the original Mamilla Street, as well as the original structures of the Convent of St. Vincent de Paul, the Stern House , and the Clark House. The mall is part of the Alrov Mamilla Quarter, a $ 400 million mixed-use development that also includes

252-683: A new environmental and educational center in Kiryat HaLeom , Jerusalem . Most of the Council's work is carried out by volunteers, including children, who are known as the 'Guardians of a Beautiful Israel'. The Yakir Award is awarded every year by the President of Israel for an outstanding contribution to the Jewish community in Israel and the Diaspora, especially in environmental issues and

294-607: A new university, the Great Synagogue and the Knesset building. West Jerusalem became covered by the Law and Administrative Ordinance of 1948, subjecting West Jerusalem to Israeli jurisdiction. United States President Donald Trump 's administration announced recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on 6 December 2017. On 6 April 2017, Russia officially recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. On 6 December 2017,

336-567: The 1948 Palestine war , the area of West Jerusalem included one of the wealthiest Arab communities, numbering some 28,000 people, in the region. By the end of hostilities, only approximately 750 non-Jews remained in the area's Arab sector, mostly Greeks in the Greek colony neighborhood. Following the war, Jerusalem was divided into two parts: the western portion, from which it is estimated 30,000 Arabs had fled or been evicted, came under Israeli rule, while East Jerusalem came under Jordanian rule and

378-443: The 1949 Armistice Agreements ), West Jerusalem was formally delineated as the counterpart to East Jerusalem , which was controlled by Jordan . Though Israel has controlled the entirety of Jerusalem since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War , the boundaries of West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem remain internationally recognized as de jure due to their significance to the process of determining the status of Jerusalem , which has been among

420-571: The British Mandate era , the street became a fashionable commercial district. Both Arab and Jewish businessmen operated high-end shops for furniture, textiles, housewares, art, photography, and automobile showrooms. In response to the announcement of the United Nations Partition Plan , Arab mobs stormed Mamilla Street on December 2, 1947, ransacking and setting fire to 40 Jewish-owned stores. Jewish merchants fled

462-615: The Czech Republic recognized Jerusalem as the capital. On 15 December 2018, Australia officially recognized West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, before withdrawing it again on 17 October 2022. During the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the eastern side of the city and the whole West Bank . Over the following years, their control remained tenuous, the international community refusing to recognise their authority and

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504-702: The Israeli-occupied West Bank . The earliest Jewish settlements outside the city walls were Mea Shearim and Yemin Moshe . In 1918 William McLean laid out the first civic plan for expansion of Jerusalem westwards and southwards. By the 1920s the Hebrew speaking Jewish community had formed a "Jewish Colony" around the area later known as the Downtown Triangle of Jaffa Road , Ben Yehuda Street and King George Street . Prior to

546-548: The Jerusalem Great Synagogue and the Heichal Shlomo . 31°46′55″N 35°13′10″E  /  31.78194°N 35.21944°E  / 31.78194; 35.21944 Council for a Beautiful Israel The Council for a Beautiful Israel ( CBI ) ( Hebrew : המועצה לישראל יפה , romanized :  ha-mo'atza le-Yisra'el yafa ) is a public non-profit organization focused on improving

588-546: The Old City Walls between Jaffa Road and Yitzhak Kariv Street. It opens onto the intersection of King Solomon, King David, and Agron Streets at its northern end, and Jaffa Gate at its southern end. The original Mamilla Street extended from the Mamilla Pool to Jaffa Gate. Along this street, wealthy Arabs constructed homes, offices and stores in the 1800s. Toward the end of the 19th century, and especially during

630-725: The 28-acre (11 ha) David's Village luxury condominium project, the David Citadel Hotel, the Alrov Mamilla Hotel, and the Karta parking lot. While the overall project was approved by the municipality in the early 1970s, and most of the condominiums and the David Citadel Hotel were completed in the 1990s, construction of the mall was delayed time and again – first due to opposition by preservationist, environmentalist, and religious groups, and then due to bureaucratic disputes, litigation, and arbitration. The mall

672-595: The Israelis themselves not feeling secure. In 1980, the Israeli government annexed East Jerusalem and reunified the city , but the international community disputed this. The population of Jerusalem has largely remained segregated along the city's historical east–west division. The larger city contains two populations that are "almost completely economically and politically segregated... each interacting with its separate central business district", supporting analysis that

714-757: The Jerusalem District Planning Commission, the Jerusalem Merchants Association, and the Council for a Beautiful Israel . Nevertheless, in the 1970s, the city spent NIS 130 million to move over 700 families out of Mamilla to the Neve Yaakov , Pisgat Ze'ev , Katamon , and Baka neighborhoods. Workshops and garages were relocated to Talpiot , where they formed the core of the nascent Talpiot industrial zone. The Ladbroke Group of London , which won

756-468: The architect, guarantee a truly public character in Mamilla's streets and piazzas, and avoid the privitized ambiance of so many urban malls? Several historic buildings were integrated into the mall design. These are: The buildings along Alrov Mamilla Avenue are spaced irregularly rather than placed in a continuous line. The open areas between the buildings accommodate different types of public areas, while

798-406: The area, Safdie opted to blend the mall into its surroundings rather than introduce a contemporary design. To that end, he chose materials and construction styles similar to those of the historic Mamilla neighborhood – namely, masonry -block construction and a predominance of arches . Facades removed from 19th-century buildings on the original Mamilla Street were placed on new construction in

840-494: The area, which then came under heavy bombardment during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . With the cessation of hostilities, the area became a no man's land dividing the Jordanian-occupied Old City from Jewish West Jerusalem, until a truce was signed in 1952. In the 1950s, poor Sephardic immigrant families and tradesmen took up occupancy in the derelict buildings, and workshops and auto-repair garages replaced

882-424: The center in stages from 2007 to 2008, bringing closure to a 37-year project that normally should have taken five to ten years. The 194-room Alrov Mamilla Jerusalem Hotel, anchored on the north side of the mall, opened in June 2009. Mamilla Mall, along with the other components of the Alrov Mamilla Quarter, was designed by Israeli architect Moshe Safdie . With an eye to the historical and archaeological importance of

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924-426: The city department of town planning submitted a scaled-back design calling for an above-ground traffic system, a pedestrian plaza fronting Jaffa Gate, the retention of facades along Mamilla and King Solomon Streets, and the demolition of historic buildings only in the heart of the Mamilla valley. Though Safdie incorporated these suggestions into a new plan submitted in 1976, opposition continued unabated by such bodies as

966-702: The city had vetoed years earlier. (Following Orthodox Jewish protest, Akirov cancelled the cinema complex.) When the government refused to approve Akirov's zoning changes, Akirov sued Karta and froze construction on the mall for several years, leaving a swath of half-finished buildings and construction cranes in clear view of Jaffa Gate and the Old City Walls. In August 2006 the Jerusalem District Court upheld three earlier arbitration rulings and ordered Karta to pay Akirov NIS 100 million for project delays. Akirov resumed construction and opened

1008-705: The city has retained a duocentric, as opposed to the traditional monocentric, structure. Major commercial centres of Jewish West Jerusalem include: the Downtown Triangle , Mamilla Mall and Emek Refaim . One of two Hadassah hospitals in Jerusalem is located in the West Jerusalem suburb of Ein Karem . The hospital synagogue contains the famous Chagall Windows by Marc Chagall . These include Teddy Stadium and Cinema City. These include

1050-489: The city that remained in Israeli hands throughout the 19 years of Jordanian rule was Mount Scopus , where the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is located, which formed an enclave during that period and therefore is not considered part of East Jerusalem. Israel established West Jerusalem as its capital in 1950. The Israeli government needed to invest heavily to create employment, building new government offices,

1092-446: The city. On the contrary, apartments and offices are accessed from the surrounding streets. Parking is never visible. The two thousand parking spaces and major bus terminal in Mamilla tuck under Mamilla Street, fitted carefully into the topography so that all exterior walls become carefully planted terraced parks, connecting the historic valley and national park with the pedestrian streets above. ... Mamilla will seem to have been woven into

1134-445: The former stores. In 1970 the Jerusalem municipality proposed to overhaul the slum-like area and replace it with a mixed-use development of luxury housing, hotels, and shops. Mayor Teddy Kollek asked architects Moshe Safdie and Gilbert Weil to draw up a plan. The two submitted a "grandiose" scheme that called for the construction of a subterranean traffic system, over-ground buildings, a pedestrian promenade, parking for 1,000 cars, and

1176-437: The government-owned development firm, Karta, went head-to-head on building rights, responsibilities, and compensation. In the 1990s Akirov changed the approved plan for covered arcades on the pedestrian promenade to open-air arches, adding 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft) of retail space; he also pushed for an entertainment complex with nine cinemas to be installed next to the Convent of St. Vincent de Paul, an idea that

1218-561: The height of the summer and tourist seasons in July and August, an estimated 20,000 people visit the mall daily. To appeal to its broad consumer base, the Alrov Group presents changing exhibits of sculpture and art along the promenade. All the pieces are by local artists, and most are for sale. During the summer and Jewish holidays , the mall hosts free concerts, street performances , folk dancing , and family activities. During Hanukkah ,

1260-768: The historic fabric of Jerusalem. I consider this as a project of invisible mending, in the sense that each strand of fabric – each alley, each street, each mass of existing building – finds a continuity and counterpoint in the project that has been constructed in its midst. At its southern end, the promenade opens onto a small, multi-tiered, landscaped park facing Jaffa Gate. Mamilla Mall contains 300,000 square feet (28,000 m) of retail space. Its 140 stores appeal to all economic strata, from high-end international chains Tommy Hilfiger and Abercrombie & Fitch ; to Israeli designer boutiques such as Castro , Dorin Frankfurt, and Ronen Chen ; to mid-range restaurants and

1302-617: The holdings of churches and schools. Many were taken from the homes of Palestinian writers and scholars in Qatamon, Bak'a and Musrara . The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine planned a " corpus separatum " for Jerusalem and its environs as an international city. In December 1949, it was officially decided to transfer the institutions of the Government of Israel to Jerusalem. Arabs living in such western Jerusalem neighbourhoods as Katamon or Malha were forced to leave;

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1344-494: The mall. Notes Bibliography West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem ( Hebrew : מַעֲרַב יְרוּשָׁלַיִם , Ma'aráv Yerushaláyim ; Arabic : القدس الغربية , al-Quds al-Ġarbiyyah ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile de facto border, established by

1386-498: The mall. Safdie commented on the task before him, writing: Mindual of the pitfalls of downtown interventions elsewhere, could I do better? Could I provide parking without creating walls of parking garages along urban streets? Could I organize the lively bazaars of the Old City to form a continuum with other shopping streets in the district? Could I create a new center that meshed with the city around its entire perimeter? Could I, as

1428-544: The original tender to develop the Mamilla project in 1989, pulled out in the early 1990s and development was handed over to Alfred Akirov of the Alrov Group of Tel Aviv . In the 1990s, Akirov completed 120 out of a planned 200 units in the David's Village condominium complex, and the David Citadel Hotel. But construction of the mall was delayed again and again due to bureaucratic disputes, litigation, arbitration, and political intervention by Israeli government ministers as Akirov and

1470-434: The outside, the over-ground structure appears as a series of tiered terraces overflowing with greenery. Skylights built into the terraces admit natural light to each parking level. Outside the entrances to the parking garage stand terminals for city buses. Safdie writes: Like urban centers elsewhere, Mamilla encompasses a mix of uses, but even the commercial structures facing the pedestrian street never present their backs to

1512-673: The primary points of contention in the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . With certain exceptions, undivided Jerusalem is not internationally recognized as the sovereign territory of either Israel or the State of Palestine . However, recognition of Israeli sovereignty over only West Jerusalem is more widely accepted as a plausible diplomatic position, as the United Nations regards East Jerusalem as part of

1554-624: The quality of life in Israel . CBI was Israel's first environmental association. The Council for a Beautiful Israel was founded in 1968 by the Interior Committee of the Knesset and Aura Herzog , who served as its international president. CBI oversees environmental awareness programs, environmental action on a national and local level, green urban projects and competitions revolving around environmental awareness. In 2010, work began on

1596-478: The same fate befell Jews in the eastern areas, including the Old City of Jerusalem and Silwan . Almost 33% of the land in West Jerusalem in the pre-mandate period had been owned by Palestinians, a fact which made it hard for the evicted Palestinians to accept Israeli control in the West. The Knesset (Israeli Parliament) passed laws to transfer this Arab land to Israeli Jewish organizations. The only eastern area of

1638-473: The spaces themselves afford views of the historic landmarks beyond the avenue, such as the Tower of David and Jaffa Gate . The buildings lining the avenue range in height from three to six stories, with the higher stories set back from the street line. There is also a two-story, domed atrium housing shops and restaurants. The mall sits atop a six-story parking garage with space for 1,600 cars and 60 buses. From

1680-481: Was finally completed and opened in stages from 2007 to 2008, thirty-seven years after its initial proposal. In the Mamilla mall there are a number of leading brands in the world, such as Tommy Hilfiger, Dior, Padani, The North Face, Adidas, Nike, Pierre Cardin Diesel, Swarovski, Rolex, Foot Locker, Mango, Zara, Stardivarius, Tous , Marccain, Columbia, H.stern, TopShop and many others. Mamilla Mall runs perpendicular to

1722-537: Was populated mainly by Palestinian Muslims and Christians . The Jordanians expelled a Jewish community of some 1,500 from the Old City. Moshe Salomon, a commander with the Etzioni Brigade ’s Moriah Battalion, described the massive looting that took place in the Arab middle-class quarter of Qatamon : “Everyone was swept up, privates and officers alike …. The greed for property encompassed everyone. Every home

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1764-670: Was scoured and searched, and people found in some cases produce, in others valuable objects. This rapaciousness attacked me as well and I could almost not hold myself back …. It’s hard to imagine the great riches that were found in all the homes …. I got control of myself in time and shackled my desire …. The battalion commander, his deputy, they all failed in this regard.” After this widespread looting, Israeli institutions managed to gather in around 30,000 books, mostly in Arabic, dealing with Islamic law, Qur’anic exegesis and translations of European literature, together with thousands of works from

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