Tirat Bat Sheva Hotel, Shmuel Hanagid Street at the Corner of King George Street, 1970s
Another “Once Upon a Time in Jerusalem”
The Tirat Bat Sheva Hotel is located in the Rehavia neighborhood, opposite the Yeshurun Synagogue, at the corner of Shmuel Hanagid Street and King George Street.
The hotel opened in early 1969 and was owned by Mordechai Ben Chaim, a Jerusalem-based businessman.
It was a seven-story building with 70 rooms. Its unique and central location in Rehavia initially contributed to its success. However, a dispute between the owner and the hotel management company that leased and operated the hotel led to its temporary closure.
Following this, due to a large wave of immigration, the hotel was leased to expand office space for the Jewish Agency, whose headquarters were nearby.
Legal battles between the owner and internal conflicts took a toll on the financial reports, and in 2005, the property was put up for sale in a receivership auction.
As part of efforts to enhance the property’s value before its sale, an application was submitted to the local planning committee . The request sought to increase building rights and change the designation from a hotel to residential units. The committee approved the plan to expand the property to 80 residential units.
Several bidders participated in the auction held in July 2005, including a group of investors from the U.S. whom I had the privilege of working with before and representing in the tender, alongside the law firm Yigal Arnon.
Eventually, after a competitive bidding process, the hotel and adjacent land were sold for $11.2 million—a significant deal for Jerusalem 20 years ago.
The investors hired a leading Israeli architect to design the complex according to the approved local planning regulations.
However, after two years of planning, the committees rejected the project due to the proposed building heights—despite those heights adhering to the same committee’s guidelines. A classic case of bureaucratic absurdity,Chelem stories of the modern era.
The rejected building height from 20 years ago now seems completely disconnected from today’s reality, considering the modern high-rise developments in downtown Jerusalem. Once again, timing proves to be everything.
The city has grown significantly, and what was dismissed as excessive years ago is now seen as minimalistic planning that no longer exists in our urban landscape.
Time passed, the Jewish Agency vacated the premises, and in 2016, after years of neglect, the hotel was leased to an Israeli developer specializing in hospitality in Israel and abroad. The planning and development of the remaining adjacent land was entrusted to a talented young Jerusalem-based architect.
The hotel underwent a complete renovation, additional floors were added, and what had stood as a long-neglected “white elephant” was transformed into a stylish and sought-after hotel.
Now, 20 years after the initial purchase of the hotel and surrounding land by the group of Zionist investors from the U.S.—who stood in awe at the wonders of Israeli bureaucracy and the endless delays in planning and construction—final approval was finally granted this month for a luxurious and intimate residential complex adjacent to the hotel.
These investors, among the elite of American real estate developers, have learned firsthand that in the Holy Land, redemption comes with struggles. But in the end, the final result compensates for the bitter taste left by the bureaucratic grind.
This is our Jerusalem.
A luxury hotel in Rehavia overlooking Independence Park and the Old City walls—a hotel that temporarily closed due to legal battles that bankrupted the developer, was sold in receivership, repurposed as office space, received a planning permit from the very same committee that later revoked its own approval, was then leased, expanded, and renovated—only to finally bring the never-ending saga to a close with the construction of an elegant residential complex.
And so, the city is renewed, and redemption comes to Zion.
Shabbat Shalom to those far and near. May all the hostages return home swiftly, along with the IDF soldiers, and may we finally achieve true unity among us and may peace come for kol Israel.
Photographer: Amit Yitzhak
