Page 31 - Discover Israel Magazine - UK edition 2018

the center of which is a church and tower
that rises high, started out in 1861 as a
Christian orphanage that operated up until
World War II. At the beginning of World War
II, the British deported the Germans living
under the Mandate as well as the residents
of Schneller Orphanage and turned the
compound into the central British military
camp in Jerusalem, which was attacked
numerous times by Etzel and Lehi.
On March 17, 1948 before leaving the
country, the British vacated the camp and
handed over control to the Etzioni Brigade,
the Haganah force on the Jerusalem District.
For the next 60 years, the compound
served as an Israeli military base, until 2008 a strong earthquake that struck Jerusalem in
when it was closed down and developed
into a new neighborhood. Due to the
architectural importance of the compound,
the Municipality of Jerusalem and green
organizations joined forces to preserve the
historic buildings and all of the buildings
belonging to the orphanage remain standing.
The Governor's Palace (Armon
Hanatziv)
Let’s move south from the city center
towards the neighborhood of Talpiot, and
just before arriving, we’ll turn left towards
the neighborhood of Armon Hanatziv, which
is named after the Governor's Palace.
The structure, which is currently owned
by the State of Israel and serves as the
The interior courtyard with the clock tower
at the Schneller complex in Jerusalem.
Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO
Above: Honor Guard made up of Scottish
soliders in front of Armon Hanatziv in Jeru-
salem. Photo: Hans Pinn, GPO
headquarters of the United Nations Truce
Supervision Organization (UNTSO), might not
be as well-kept as it was during the British
Mandate, but its beauty and impressive
design by any standard continue to justify a
special trip.
As opposed to common wisdom, Armon
Hanatziv was not the first residence of the
High Commissioner Herbert Samuel, when
he came to Jerusalem, but actually Augusta
Victoria who nationalized the British army
when it arrived in Palestine and became
its headquarters. Samuel lived on the
compound for five years and was followed
by High Commissioner Herbert Plumer, but
1927 damaged the building, and they started
planning a new building that would serve
as the residence and office of the British
High Commissioner. After searching, an
appropriate spot was found east of Talpiot
at the top of a mountain known as Jabel
Mukaber (in Arabic, large mountain).
Austen St. Barbe Harrison was selected to
design the grand project. He was the Chief
Architect to the Department of Public Works
in the civil administration of British Palestine,
and after submitting five options which were
sharply criticized by the Colonial Office due
to the extremely high cost of construction,
the final plan was approved and construction
began. Harrison even traveled to Damascus
to seek inspiration for the interior design
of the palace, in order to integrate Oriental
elements fitting of the location of the building
and its Arab character. In fact, the well-
known Muslim octagonal motif appears
extensively throughout the building, giving
the palace its unique style.
After the building was dedicated in 1933,
four high commissioners lived there: Sir
Arthur Wauchope, Sir Harold MacMichael,
John Vereker 6th Viscount Gort, and Sir
Alan Gordon Cunningham, who vacated the
palace at the end of the Mandate. During
the War of Independence, the area near the
palace became a battle zone, when Arabs
took up positions to the east, and Israeli
forces took up positions to the west. After
prolonged fighting that exacted many lives,
the palace was handed over to UN forces.
Many years later, a bustling residential
neighborhood was built around it, along
with a lovely stone promenade that attracts
thousands of visitors.
D I S C O V E R I S R A E L 31