National Botanic Garden of Israel

Coordinates: 31°47′37.06″N 35°14′39.11″E / 31.7936278°N 35.2441972°E

National Botanic Garden of Israel
Location	Mount Scopus, Jerusalem
Created	1931
Operated by	Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Status	Open all year
Website	botanic-garden.huji.ac.il/eng_index.htm

the Botanist Alexander Eig planting the first tree in the garden – 1931

National Botanic Garden of Israel (official name: The Botanical Garden for the Native Plants of Israel in memory of Montague Lamport, in Hebrew: הגן הבוטני לצמחי ארץ ישראל ע"ש מונטג'יו למפורט) is a botanical garden located in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Mount Scopus campus. it is the first botanical garden in the Land of Israel and records all the wild plants of Israel and the Middle East. The garden is located in the northern part of the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. around the garden are many burial caves from the Second Temple period. in the western part of the garden is a small amphitheater. The garden is also a Ecological nature reserve and National park it contains: Natural Teaching Center, a Library that is largest botanical library in Israel, and a meteorological station. on the western side of the garden is Trail walk named after the Israeli author Avigdor Hameiri. in the center of the Trail, next to the main entrance is a stone tablet inscribed with his famous song poem "On the summit of Mount Scopus".

History

the National botanical garden established in 1931 on the northern side of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus by Profe. "Otto Warburg" that was the founder of the Department of Botany of the university together the botanist Dr. "Alexander Eig". the garden was the first botanical garden in Land of Israel and the first in the Middle East. The garden was a highlight of the scientific and educational work of botanist Alexander Eig that continued to teach at the university until his death and plant the first tree in the garden. he established the Protect flora of the Land of Israel under Habitat and established his students and colleagues (Michael Zohary and Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan), Dunes tiny riverbank, Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub tiny and the like, including planting native plants. He collected plants in the garden Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon, brought seedlings from 350 Cedrus s. Further tending botanists as Tuvia Kushnir and Clara Chen.

In 1947 was host the "Jerusalem Biblical Zoo", which has been planned to fit in the Botanical Garden. Most of the animals survived the War of Independence, but were starving due to lack of food suitable to their needs. In 1950 an agreement was reached with the Jordanians and the remaining of animals were taken down from the Scopus campus by weekly convoys.

until 1967 the garden has been neglected over 19 years, which was Scopus campus implicit in an area under Israeli control that surrounded by Jordan. Garden dug and Contact channels were buried him mine. in 1958 two Israelis soldiers were killed in the garden by Jordanian ambushed, also the "United States Chairman of the Commission" that came to mediate was killed in this incident.

the garden situation was deteriorated until in 1980 decided to resume it. In 1988 the garden was inaugurated and since it is a scientific and educational center as well as a relaxation area on campus.

Cave of Nicanor and the National Pantheon of Israel

The Cave of Nicanor is an ancient burial cave from the Second Temple period that discovered in 1902. a sign in cave was marked it as the grave of "Nicanor" who built the doors on the First Temple in Jerusalem. in 1934, the remains of Leon Pinsker from Odessa were reburied in the Nicanor cave at the initiative of Menachem Ussishkin, who envisaged a national pantheon on Mt. Scopus. However, the only other person buried there was Ussishkin himself, who died in 1941. A national leaders plot was established on Mount Herzl after the founding of the state in 1948, in part because Mount Scopus became an enclave in Jordanian-occupied territory.

Galeria

• 
  the entrance to the Pantheon
• 
  Tombs of Leon Pinsker and Menachem Ussishkin
• 
  the song On the summit of Mount Scopus on stone tablet

External links

• National Botanic Garden of Israel