100 years since the inauguration of King George Street, another “Once Upon a Time in Jerusalem”.
On December 9, 1924, exactly seven years after the British army, led by General Allenby, captured Jerusalem, one of the main streets of Jerusalem was inaugurated. It was named after the King of Britain at the time, King George V.
The street was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by Sir Herbert Samuel – the British High Commissioner, the Governor of the Jerusalem-Jaffa district, and other prominent figures.
The street begins at the X-intersection of Jaffa and Strauss Streets and extends to French Square and the King David Hotel, which is known in Jerusalem as Paris Square.
In early 1948, members of Lehi secretly changed the street’s name to King David Street, protesting the naming of a main street after a foreign king and foreign rule, and replaced the street signs.
Upon the establishment of the State of Israel, the British government officially requested that the new Israeli authorities restore the street’s name in honour of the king who, during his reign, signed the Balfour Declaration supporting the establishment of a Jewish national home.
The request was accepted, and King David Street was put on hold until a new street fitting the status of the red-haired king with a slingshot was found alongside the Old City, which was renamed from Julian Street, as we previously discussed.
Along the street, many notable buildings are located, such as the Froumine House, which housed the First Knesset, the National Institutions Building at the corner of Keren – Kayemet L’israel Street, which hosted the Zionist Federation, the Jewish National Fund, the Foundation Fund, and the Jewish Agency.
Additionally, along the street are the Yeshurun Synagogue, the Great Synagogue – Heichal Shlomo, and since its inauguration, more buildings have been added to the street, including the ugly City Tower, the Mashbir Building, the Plaza Hotel, the Prima Kings Hotel, and the Tirat Bat Sheva Hotel.
Currently, construction is nearing completion for the new InterContinental Hotel.
And today, exactly 100 years after the street’s opening, the horse-drawn carriage of the king will be replaced with the blue line of the light rail.
Excavation work will begin next week, and once completed, the crown will be returned to the historic street, rich with historic buildings symbolizing the revival and return of the Jewish people to their ancestral land.
This is our Jerusalem-
The king of the British empire, during whose reign the Foreign Minister signed Britain’s support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in the land of Israel.
Back in the days when the king was a real king, with a carriage or a harp, and not a definition of bed size, a nickname for a child, or the name of a producer of fake Eastern music cassette tapes.
Wishing Shabbat Shalom to all those near and far from Jerusalem.
May all the hostages return home along with the IDF soldiers, and may peace return to Israel,
and may we be united in victory, for we have only ever had one king who just wants to see us united.
Photographer – The American Congress Library
