3 Weeks

East of the City of David on the Southern slope of Har HaZeitim (The Mt. of Olives) overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem stands a community known as Kfar HaShiloach.

In 1882, a few Yemenite Jews walked from Yemen to Jerusalem on the belief that the Moshiach was arriving in Jerusalem in that year. They established a community which by 1885 had grown significantly. At its peak there were 144 Yemenite families in the area along with other Sefardim. The residents built a 3 domed Beit Knesset that served as the center and focal point for the community.

However, in 1938 riots by local Arabs and pogroms orchestrated by Arab chieftains forced an evacuation of the community with a promise that soon the community could return. Unfortunately, that return never materialized and from 1938 to 1967 the synagogue was defiled, desecrated and siddurim and seforim were burnt. While many letters of protest were written the government authorities did nothing and Arabs simply illegally squatted in the Synagogue and the community and homes were ransacked.

In 2004, the first few Jewish families returned to live in Kfar HaShiloach aka Kfar HaTeimanim (The Yemenite Village). With the help of Ateret Cohanim and the Committee for the Renewal of the Yemenite Village, Jewish life returned to the area. Jews from Israel and abroad gave the financial backing and invested in the area to make it happen. We are indebted to the Lamm Family whose major contribution has been memorialized in the naming of this area as “The Lamm Yemenite Heritage and Beit Knesset complex.”

Today, 41 families with their 170 children live in this area. In 2015, during renovations of the homes, workers discovered the original Beit Knesset. One of the three domes was partially visible and as workers cleared away the debris, they discovered the remains of the synagogue and opened the ceilings to find the other two domes.