Jewish Sites in Jerusalem
Long before Christianity or Islam existed, Jerusalem was already holy to the Jews. It was the home of two successive Temples, the last of which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Only the western retaining wall remains, and this is the holiest site in Judaism.
Jerusalem also offers numerous synagogues, historical sites associated with Hebrew prophets and scriptures, and a plethora of museums of Jewish interest.
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Western Wall (Wailing Wall) Muslim Quarter The only remaining part of Herod's Temple is the holiest site in Judaism and functions as an open-air synagogue where prayers are constantly being said. |
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Hurva Square Jewish Quarter The main landmark of this square in the center of the Jewish Quarter is the arch of the ruined Hurva Synagogue. |
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Israel Museum |
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Bible Lands Museum |
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Hebrew University West Jerusalem This major international university includes an interesting synagogue and the Jewish National and University Library, with Jewish-themed stained-glass windows. |
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Mount Herzel and Herzel Museum The cemetary includes the graves of Theodor Herzl, who predicted and worked for the founding of Israel until his death in 1904, and other important leaders. |
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Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art West Jerusalem Contains the reconstructed interior of an 18th-century synagogue near Venice and exhibits on Italian Jewish life from the Middle Ages to the present. |
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Ramban Synagogue Jewish Quarter, Old City This synagogue, founded by the great Spanish Rabbi Moses ben Mahman in the 1200s and moved to its current location around 1400, was the first Jewish presence in Jerusalem's Old City since the exile of 135 AD. |
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Sanhedrian Tombs A three-story burial catacomb hewn from rock, where the judges of the Sanhedrin during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD are buried. |
| Tombs of the Kings (Tombeau des Rois) Inside a small cave are four decorated sarcophagi containing the remains of Queen Helena, who converted to Judaism in 50 AD, and her family. |
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| Tombs of the Prophets Mount of Olives This is believed to be the burial place of Haggai, Malachi, and Zechariah. |
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| Underground Prisoners' Museum West Jerusalem This museum documents the prison conditions suffered by many who fought for Jewish immigration to British Mandate Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish state. |
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| Wohl Archaeological Museum and Burnt House Jewish Quarter This museum preserves the recently rediscovered houses of the ancient Upper City, occupied by Jewish temple priests during the era of Herod the Great (37-4 BC). |
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Yad VaShem Memorial and Holocaust Museum |
