Another ‘Once Upon a Time in Jerusalem’
In the photo: the pillbox and the Valley of the Cross, late 1930s.
The pillbox, was built by the British Army during the Arab Revolt in 1936.
The pillbox is a fortified concrete position, shaped like a cylinder, about five meters high and four meters in diameter.
The purpose of the pillboxes, which were placed at strategic points, was to oversee and monitor key intersections and transportation routes while protecting the soldiers inside.
The pillbox had an armored steel door and inside steps going up to the gallery that served as an observation point, equipped with steel-framed firing slits for light weapons and machine guns.
It also had an upper floor with additional firing slits and observation capabilities for defense.
Some of the British soldiers stationed in the pillboxes likely suffered from advanced hearing loss and eardrum damage due to firing in an enclosed space—an experience familiar to any fighter who has ever fired from within a room.
As for the Beatles songs that came 30 years later, British veterans of the pillbox likely enjoyed them only through hand gestures.
In Jerusalem, eight pillboxes were built during that time.
In the photo, the pillbox now stands at the corner of Tchernichovsky, Azza, and Herzog streets, opposite the Valley of the Cross. In the hills to the right lies the young neighborhood of Rehavia, in its early stages of construction.
The donkey path to the right of the wall is today’s Haim Hazaz Boulevard, and the Knesset and Israel Museum were later built on the rocky hills to the left of the Monastery of the Valley of the Cross.
Today, some of the pillboxes built in Jerusalem have been restored. Some were destroyed during the Haganah’s struggle against the British before the War of Independence. The pillbox on Tchernichovsky Street was restored, repainted, and opened to the public in 2016 after being closed for 85 years. It now serves as a tangible reminder of the past and the rich and tumultuous history of the city.
This is our Jerusalem:
A pillbox against the Arab Revolt and the 1929 riots,
British soldiers risking their lives far from their homeland, without a nearby beer tap,
and without earplugs,
and an old donkey path that leads to today’s Knesset building.
It seems the donkeys, at least, arrived at their destination safely.
Wishing a peaceful Shabbat to all those near and far, from Jerusalem ❤
