In the heart of Jerusalem, surrounded by the chaotic neighborhoods of Geula and Beit Yisrael, sits an extraordinary example of Jewish Diaspora ambition made manifest in stone and mortar.
The Bukharan Quarter, established in 1894, ranks among Jerusalem’s most captivating neighborhoods, a place where Central Asian Jewish merchants transformed their prosperity into a bold experiment: creating a European-style town within the Holy City.
The tale unfolds
The story begins in the 1870s and 1880s, when waves of Bukharan Jews began arriving in Jerusalem, fleeing persecution in their Central Asian homeland (modern-day Bukhara is in Uzbekistan) while carrying considerable wealth from their success in the silk trade.
Rabbi Ze’ev Yavetz, observing these new arrivals in 1888, noted their unique character. “They are very diligent in commerce, possess wealth, and engage in financial dealings,” he wrote. “Among them are Torah-fearing scholars, pure-minded and well-mannered individuals. Some even incline toward a love of the Hebrew language and a love of knowledge.”
By 1889, with their community numbering around 200, these immigrants organized under the banner of the “Zion Society of the Holy Community of Bukhara and Its Surroundings.” Their ambitions were to create an entire neighborhood that would serve as a model for modern Jewish life in Jerusalem.
The name they chose – Rehovot, meaning “wide spaces” – came from Genesis, reflecting their biblical inspiration: “Now the Lord has given us room, and we will flourish in the land.” It was both a practical description and a spiritual aspiration.
Architectural vision
In 1891, the community purchased 65 dunams of land west of the existing Beit Yisrael neighborhood, in an area then considered relatively remote from Jerusalem’s main development along Jaffa Road. What they built there was revolutionary for its time: wide streets laid out in a European grid pattern, space allocated for tree planting, and large houses with spacious courtyards – all uncommon features in Jerusalem’s modest Jewish quarters of the era.
The first structure, completed in 1894, was the magnificent Moussaieff Synagogue, featuring 10 prayer rooms. This was followed by an ambitious construction program that would eventually encompass 300 planned housing units, making it the largest and most luxurious Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem at the time.
The architectural vision was distinctly European, influenced by the founders’ travels and their desire to create a modern Jewish community. Prominent leaders like Rabbis Yosef Kojainov and Shlomo Moussaieff oversaw the development, which soon attracted wealthy Bukharan Jews, who built summer homes where they would stay between Passover and Shavuot.
Among the neighborhood’s most impressive structures was the Moussaieff Hammam, a Turkish-style bathhouse built in 1900 and inspired by Parisian design. The Davidoff House served as a grand residence before later housing the Hebrew Gymnasium, while the massive Moussaieff House, sprawling across five dunams, eventually became home to the Kamenitz Yeshiva.
Decline to new life
The neighborhood’s golden age was brief. World War I brought devastating changes as men were drafted into the Turkish army, financial ties with Bukhara were severed due to Russia’s conflict with the Ottoman Empire, and many wealthy residents fled. The post-war period saw grand houses subdivided and rented to poor families, mostly Kurdish and North African Jews, fundamentally altering the neighborhood’s character.
Educational institutions collapsed, as Talmud Torah schools went bankrupt. The community’s rescue came through Rabbi Yisrael Porat, who recruited Rabbi Moshe Porush to revive Bukharan educational institutions – a mission Porush accepted despite the meager salary, seeing it as an idealistic calling.
The latter half of the 20th century brought further decline. Many grand buildings were neglected or demolished, and in 1951 tragedy struck when one house collapsed, killing four residents. Most of the original Bukharan community left for newer Jerusalem neighborhoods, replaced increasingly by haredi (ultra-Orthodox) residents, while most inhabitants remained secular, creating tensions that sometimes erupted into conflict.
The 1980s saw particularly difficult periods, with haredi residents attempting to change the neighborhood’s character through harassment of secular neighbors, disrupting Shabbat soccer games, and even committing acts of vandalism and violence.
Despite these challenges, efforts to preserve and renew the Bukharan Quarter have continued. In 1968, the Jerusalem Municipality launched a rehabilitation plan. The neighborhood joined Project Renewal in 1979, though progress was often hindered by complex ownership disputes.
The early 2000s brought new hope with a Housing Ministry preservation plan that allowed construction additions to fund neighborhood renewal. The plan carefully balanced development with conservation, preserving street-facing facades while permitting third-floor additions under tiled roofs and planning approximately 150 new housing units plus commercial and community spaces.
In 2008, preservation efforts intensified with 12 additional buildings designated for conservation, bringing the total to 57, with 10 declared neighborhood monuments. Detailed guidelines were established for any additions, ensuring that new construction would respect the neighborhood’s historic character.
New life to the neighborhood
Today’s Bukharan Quarter, which houses 9,235 residents, is a bustling blend of history and modernity. The Bukharan Market remains vibrant, home to legendary establishments like Shlomo’s Falafel, Eshtanur Bakery, and the late Avraham Yitzhaki’s barbershop, once a gathering place for prominent rabbis such as Ovadia Yosef, Yitzhak Kaduri, and Abba Shaul.
The neighborhood has been home to notable figures across generations, from Israel’s president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and his wife, Rachel Yanait Ben-Zvi, to contemporary leaders like attorney and filmmaker Etti Hassid and engineer Dan Wind, founder of the Jerusalem light rail project.
Recent municipal upgrades completed in March 2021 have brought new life to the market with improved roofing, pavement, facade cleaning, and lighting. Meanwhile, updated zoning regulations from 2019 now permit six-story buildings on main roads and five-story construction elsewhere, replacing the old three-story limit that had been widely ignored.
The architectural treasures that remain tell the story of this unique community: the Baba Tama Synagogue serving as the neighborhood’s spiritual center; the Italian-style Yehudayoff-Hafetz House with its historic murals; and the various synagogues that served different segments of the community, including the specialized houses of worship for Mashhadi anusim (forced converts) who found refuge here.
The Bukharan Quarter stands today as more than just a neighborhood – it’s a testament to the dreams and resilience of a Jewish community that sought to build their vision of modern Jewish life in the ancient city of Jerusalem.
Although the original Bukharan community has largely dispersed, their architectural legacy continues to shape one of Jerusalem’s most distinctive quarters, where wide streets and spacious courtyards still echo the ambitious vision of merchants from Central Asia who dared to dream of “wide spaces” in the Holy City.
In an increasingly dense and modern Jerusalem, the Bukharan Quarter remains a unique reminder of how immigrant communities can leave lasting impressions on the urban flow of a city.