๐ฎ๐ฑ Mevaseret Zion is a suburb of Jerusalem with the administrative status of a local council. Mevaseret Zion is composed of two distinct older townships, Maoz Zion and Mevaseret Yerushalayim, under the jurisdiction of one local council. The newer neighborhoods of Mevaseret Zion were not part of either settlement.
Mevaseret Zion is located on a mountain ridge 750ย m (2,460ย ft) above sea level, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It is 10ย km (6ย mi) from the city, straddling both sides of the JerusalemโTel Aviv highway. It is spread over 15 neighborhoods. It is the wealthiest municipality per capita in the Jerusalem District.
History Due to its strategic location, settlement in the area of Mevasseret Zion goes back to antiquity. The Romans built a fortress there, known as Castellum. On the ruins of this fortress, the Crusaders built a castle, Castellum Belveer, of which no trace remains. Belveer is mentioned in a letter from Eraclius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, dated September 1187, in which he describes the slaughter of Christians "by the sword of Mafumetus the Unbeliever and his evil worshipper Saladin" and the Arab conquest of the town, which was renamed al-Qastal.
During the British Mandate of Palestine, the British referred to this district as "The Castle". The Arabs called it "al-Qastal", pronouncing the "t". The Jews called it "HaCรกstel" ("the Cรกstel").
In the 1948 Palestine war, battles took place here as Arabs and Jews fought for control of al-Qastal, which overlooked the main Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway. Al-Qastal exchanged hands several times in the course of the fighting. The tides turned when the Arab commander Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni was killed. Many of the Arabs left their positions to attend al-Husayni's funeral at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday, April 9. That same day, al-Qastal fell to the Yishuv forces, virtually unopposed.
Maoz Zion Maoz Zion ("Stronghold of Zion") was established in 1951 to house new immigrants from Iraq, Kurdistan, North Africa and Iran who had been living in a ma'abara, or transit camp, at the foot of the Castel hill. Many were employed at the nearby Solel Boneh stone quarry.
Mevasseret Yerushalayim Mevasseret Yerushalayim was established east of Ma'oz Zion in 1956 by Jewish immigrants from North Africa. It was located on a ridge near the armistice line, north of Motza. The residents worked in the fruit orchards in the Arazim Valley.
Unified local council In 1963, Maoz Zion and Mevasseret Yerushalayim formed a joint local council, which was called Mevasseret Zion. The source of the name comes from the Book of Isaiah: "ืขื ืืจ ืืืื ืขืื ืื ืืืฉืจืช ืฆืืืโ" - "Ascend a lofty mountain, O herald of joy to Zion" (Isaiah 40:9).
Institutions and landmarks The Har'el shopping mall is located at the entrance to Mevasseret Zion, near the Har'el interchange. The mall serves the residents of Mevasseret Zion, Maoz Zion, the surrounding communities, as well as travelers on Route 1. The shopping mall which includes some 80 businesses has been joined by the Jerusalem Mall on the other side of the highway at the entrance of Maoz Zion. Businesses included between both malls include Golf, s.wear, Magnolia Jewelers, Castro, Renaur and many others. The world's first kosher McDonald's opened there in 1995. In addition to numerous Orthodox congregations, Mevasseret Zion also has a Reform congregation, Kehillat Mevasseret Zion, founded in 1993.
Mevaseret Zion has a population of over 24,409 people. Mevaseret Zion also forms part of the wider Jerusalem metropolitan area which has a population of over 1,253,900 people. Mevaseret Zion is situated near .
Twin Towns, Sister Cities Mevaseret Zion has links with:
๐บ๐ธ Calabasas, USA ๐ฉ๐ช Sankt Augustin, Germany ๐บ๐ธ White Plains, USA๐ต๐ธ East Jerusalem 31.783
๐ฒ๐ฝ Ciudad Juรกrez 31.746
๐ฎ๐ฑ Beit Shemesh 31.738
๐ฎ๐ฑ Bet Shemesh 31.733
๐จ๐ณ Zhangjiagang 31.72
๐บ๐ฆ Zaporizhzhya 35.117
๐ฎ๐ฑ Kiryat Ata 35.1
๐ฎ๐ฑ Kiryat Motzkin 35.079
๐บ๐ฆ Dnipropetrovsk 35.046
Locations Near: Mevaseret Zion 35.15,31.8
๐ฎ๐ฑ Jerusalem 35.218,31.775 d: 7
๐ต๐ธ East Jerusalem 35.233,31.783 d: 8.1
๐ต๐ธ Bethlehem 35.201,31.707 d: 11.4
๐ต๐ธ Ramallah 35.206,31.903 d: 12.6
๐ต๐ธ Al-Bireh 35.214,31.907 d: 13.3
๐ต๐ธ Efrat 35.15,31.65 d: 16.7
๐ฎ๐ฑ Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut 35.02,31.887 d: 15.6
๐ฎ๐ฑ Beit Shemesh 34.991,31.738 d: 16.5
๐ฎ๐ฑ Bet Shemesh 34.983,31.733 d: 17.4
๐ฎ๐ฑ Modiโin Makkabbim Reโut 35,31.9 d: 18
Antipodal to: Mevaseret Zion -144.85,-31.8
๐ต๐ซ Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 18359.7
๐ฆ๐ธ Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16745.6
๐น๐ด Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 16782
๐ผ๐ธ Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16626.7
๐บ๐ธ Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 14182.7
๐บ๐ธ Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 14045.9
๐บ๐ธ Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 14026.8
๐บ๐ธ Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 14026