| Beit Zayit בֵּית זַיִת | |
|---|---|
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| Etymology: House of Olives | |
  Beit ZayitShow map of Jerusalem Beit ZayitShow map of Israel | |
| Coordinates: 31°46′58″N 35°9′34″E / 31.78278°N 35.15944°E / 31.78278; 35.15944 | |
| Country |  Israel |
| District | Jerusalem |
| Council | Mateh Yehuda |
| Affiliation | Moshavim Movement |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Founded by | Egyptian, Romanian and Yugoslav Jews |
| Population | 1,621 |
| Website | www |
Beit Zayit (Hebrew: בֵּית זַיִת, lit. 'House of Olives') is a moshav in central Israel. Located just outside the Jerusalem municipal border to the west, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,621.
Beit Zayit lies on the edge of the Jerusalem Forest. Nearby is a dam, built to collect winter flood waters and create the Beit Zayit Reservoir, meant to slow down the flow of the Soreq Stream and allow water to seep into the Western Mountain Aquifer, a task it seems not to fulfill properly (look here for the Hebrew article).
Name
A village named Beit Zayit is mentioned in the Book of the Maccabees, but it is believed to have been further north, possibly at the site of the Palestinian Christian town of Bir Zeit, north of Ramallah.
History
Beit Zayit was established after the 1947-49 Arab-Israeli war on land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of 'Ayn Karim.
The village was established in 1949 by Jewish immigrants from Egypt, Romania and Yugoslavia. The economy was based on fruit orchards, vegetables, poultry, and other farm products.
With the expansion of the moshav in the late 1990s, including the purchase of land by newcomers and renovation of old homes, Beit Zayit became a trendy alternative to living in Jerusalem.
Dinosaur footprints
In 1962, dinosaur footprints were discovered in the garden of one of Beit Zayit's residents, and are on display at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This is the only place in Israel where evidence of dinosaurs was discovered, and one of few such sites in the Middle East.
In popular culture
In the Israeli TV show Fauda, the village is visited by the main characters since one of the characters, Yaara, lives there.
References
- ^ "Regional Statistics". Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Bard, Mitchell G. (2016). "Bet Zayit". Jewish Virtual Library. American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- Khalidi, W. (1992). All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. p. 273. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
- Steinberg, Jessica (2 January 2009). "Posh Israeli suburb grows out of a farming co-op". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- Sofer, Barbara (1995). Kids Love Israel, Israel Loves Kids: A Travel Guide for Families. Kar-Ben Publishing. p. 103. ISBN 9780929371894.
- Feinberg Vamosh, Miriam (16 September 2013). "Way Before the Flood: Dinosaur Tracks by Jerusalem". Haaretz. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- "Fauda: Season 3, Episode 12 script". Subs Like Script. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
External links
- Village website (in Hebrew)