SHA’AR HAmenuchot

acquire a piece of eternity

Sha'ar HaMenuchot is part of the largest cemetery in Jerusalem

Har HaMenuchot is an important symbol of Israel's history and a revered site for the Jewish people.

The cemetery was established in 1951, following the War of Independence, to provide a final resting place for the many Jewish soldiers who had died in the conflict. It was named after the nearby Mount Menucha, a biblical reference to a place of rest. Over the years, Har HaMenuchot has grown to become one of the largest cemeteries in Israel, covering an area of approximately 250 acres. It is the final resting place of many notable Israeli figures, including religious leaders, politicians, artists, and writers.

By choosing Sha'ar HaMenuchot, you are aligning yourself with the many great Rabbanim and Jewish leaders buried on Har HaMenuchot.

History
Sha’ar HaMenuchot

until

1948

All prior burials in Jerusalem were on the Mount of Olives, the oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. Jerusalem was under siege during the War of Independence, and burials could not continue there.

1948

Post-war, Eastern Jerusalem was in Jordanian hands. As a result, three new small, temporary cemeteries were constructed in different parts of Jerusalem while the city planned a more permanent option.

in late summer

1951

Har HaMenuchot, which was then outside of the city limits, was built and the first burials took place. At the same time, Har Herzl, Israel’s military cemetery, opened and conducted all fallen soldiers’ burials. After construction, developers estimated the site could hold 40,000 graves by 1988.

1988

Har HaMenuchot was initially planned to accommodate the city for 40 years. Forty years later, with 50,000 graves on site, developers planned expansions to the mountain’s various slopes.

2008

With the rapid increase of foreign burials on Har HaMenuchot, the site holds over 150,000 graves.

2012

Given the city's natural growth and the planned expansion of the adjacent Highway 1, the municipality plants a row of cedar trees and the construction of walls to block the cemetery from coming right up to the highway.

2020

International investors buy private land directly adjacent to the southern side of Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuchot cemetery. The land has been zoned for cemetery use since 2008. This becomes the future site of Sha'ar HaMenuchot.

2021

Planning of the Sha'ar HaMenuchot cemetery begins, with the purpose of being exclusively for foreigners. Israel’s most expert architects, urban planners and contractors meet to plan an unprecedented and innovative modern cemetery.

2022

Initial work begins on site, and preparations for actual development commences.

Points of interest

01- 0N

Givat Shaul

A major commercial and shopping hub within the city, the Jerusalem Light Rail is being extended throughout the Givat Shaul neighborhood, to only a few meters from the entrance to Sha'ar HaMenuchot.

This will now make Sha'ar HaMenuchot easily accessible by all forms of public transportation.

Har Nof

Built in the 1980s on the very edge of the western part of Jerusalem, Har Nof quickly became an Anglo-centric community of many new religiously Orthodox immigrants from the United States.

It also developed a Sephardic population over time, famously being the neighborhood where Israel’s former Sephardic Chief Rabbi and world-renowned spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef lived.

Chords Bridge

Designed by the same architect and engineer who created the now world-famous Oculus World Trade Center Transportation Hub, this bridge, completed in 2008, quickly became a symbol of the Jerusalem skyline.

Meant to resemble David’s harp at the very entrance to the city that King David built, this bridge supports the Jerusalem light rail project as well.

Central Bus Station/Navon Train Station

Perhaps the busiest area in all of Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Central Bus Station and Navon high-speed train station connect Jerusalem with the rest of the country. The high speed train leaving every half an hour connects Jerusalem to the airport in just 26 minutes as well as to central Tel Aviv.

Buses depart from here to almost every locality within the entire country, and the light rail station and taxi stands serve as a way to connect commuters to all neighborhoods of the holy city.

Roadways

A storied, historical highway winding through the forested Jerusalem hills, Highway 1 is the main artery which connects the capital city to Tel Aviv and the coastal plain. Har HaMenuchot recently just received its own special exit directly from the highway in order to limit congestion at the entrance to the city and reduce traffic.

Recently completed, Highway 16 runs parallel to the Givat Shaul neighborhood and transverses the city of Jerusalem. Its Givat Shaul exit brings you within minutes of Sha'ar HaMenuchot