Beit Zayit (Hebrew: בֵּית זַיִת, lit. 'House of Olives') is a moshav in 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.[1]
Beit Zayit
בֵּית זַיִת | |
---|---|
Etymology: House of Olives | |
Beit Zayit Beit Zayit | |
Coordinates: 31°46′58″N 35°9′34″E / 31.78278°N 35.15944°E | |
Country | Israel |
District | Jerusalem |
Council | Mateh Yehuda |
Affiliation | Moshavim Movement |
Founded | 1949 |
Founded by | Egyptian, Romanian and Yugoslav Jews |
Population (2022)[1] | 1,621 |
Website | www |
Beit Zayit lies on the edge of the Jerusalem Forest and operates a public swimming pool. Nearby is a dam, built to collect winter flood waters[2] 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).
A village named Beit Zayit is mentioned in the Book[which?] 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.[2]
Beit Zayit was established after the 1947-49 Arab-Israeli war on land that had belonged to the depopulated Palestinian village of 'Ayn Karim.[3]
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.[2]
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.[4]
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.[5] This is the only place in Israel where evidence of dinosaurs was discovered, and one of few such sites in the Middle East.[6]
In the Israeli TV show Fauda, the village is visited by the main characters since one of the characters, Yaara, lives there.[7]