Jewish Sites in Israel and the West Bank

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 many synagogues, historical sites associated with Hebrew prophets and scriptures, and a plethora of museums of Jewish interest. And outside of Jerusalem are tombs of the prophets and other holy sites.

	Bible Lands Museum West Jerusalem This museum opened in 1992 and has an incomparable collection of artifacts surrounding the ancient Israelite world, including pieces from early Christianity.
	Hebrew University of Jerusalem West Jerusalem This major international university includes an interesting synagogue and the Jewish National and University Library, with Jewish-themed stained-glass windows.
	Hurva Synagogue Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem This ruined (Hurva = "Ruins") Ashkenazi synagogue was one of the largest buildings in the city until it was destroyed in the war of 1948. Plans are underway to rebuild it.
	Israel Museum West Jerusalem Opened in 1965, this large museum includes art exhibits, a Judaica Wing, an Archaeological Wing, and the wonderful Shrine of the Book containing the Dead Sea Scrolls.
	Mount Herzel and Herzel Museum Jerusalem The cemetery here includes the graves of Theodor Herzl, who predicted and worked for the founding of the State of Israel until his death in 1904, and other important leaders.
	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.
	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.
	Temple Mount A holy site to both Jews and Muslims, this is the historic site of the Second Temple and the current site of the Dome of the Rock.
	Tomb of David Mount Zion, Jerusalem This site on Mount Zion has been venerated as the burial place of King David by Christians, Muslims and Jews since the Middle Ages. Here a large cenotaph is lovingly covered in a velvet drape embroidered with Hebrew text.
	Tombs of the Kings Jerusalem Inside this incorrectly-named small cave are four decorated sarcophagi containing the remains of Queen Helena, who converted to Judaism in 50 AD, and her family.
	Tombs of the Prophets Mount of Olives, Jerusalem Medieval Jewish tradition identified these burial chambers as the tombs of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, but they actually date from the 1st century BC.
	Tomb of Rachel Bethlehem The city venerated as the birthplace of Jesus is also home to a Jewish shrine: the much-revered tomb of biblical matriarch Rachel, wife of Jacob and mother of two of his twelve sons.
	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.
	Western Wall Muslim Quarter, Jerusalem This is all that remains of the Temple that was once the center of Jewish worship. The Western Wall Plaza functions as a vast, open-air synagogue that is the preferred place to pray for Jews worldwide.
	Wohl Archaeological Museum and Burnt House Jewish Quarter, Jerusalem 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).
	Yad VaShem Memorial and Holocaust Museum West Jerusalem This powerful memorial features a wide range of artworks commemorating the suffering endured by Jews around the word during the Holocaust.