Cable cars in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Cable cars are a public transit project in Jerusalem Israel, intended to increase access to the Western Wall from west Jerusalem.^[1]

Jerusalem Cable Cars
Overview
Status	In Planning
Location	Jerusalem, Israel
No. of stations	4
Technical features
Line length	1.4 km
Operating speed	28.8 km/h
Notes	elevation 26 m

Project

The project is being organized by the Jerusalem Development Authority, Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Transport.^[1]

Stops

First Station
HaMefaked Street
Mount Zion
Dung Gate/Western Wall

Controversy

The project has been opposed by Israeli ministers of Transportation and Environment Merav Michaeli and Tamar Zandberg.^[2] It was also opposed by Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

Historical Cable Cars

During the Israeli War of Independence, the Etzioni Brigade built a secret cable car between the Mount Zion Hospital (a few minutes away from the First Station) to the Bishop Gobat School (today the Jerusalem University College) on the other side of the Valley of Hinnom, to transport wounded and supplies.^[3]^[4]^[5] The project was code names "Derech Avshalom". The cable car was used regularly for about six months, until the armistice agreements were signed. After that, the cable car was a military secret, and remained usable until the Six Day War, when it became redundant with the unification of the two parts of the city.

The existence of the cable car remained a secret from the public until 1972, when it was decided to commemorate it in a museum. Entrance to the cable car museum is by prior arrangement with the hotel's security department.

References

^ ^a ^b Constantinoiu, Marina (2017-12-04). "Jerusalem cable-car plan takes flight". ISRAEL21c. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
^ ToI Staff. "Government tells top court it supports controversial Jerusalem cable car plan". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
^ Peled, Ron; Fridlin, Amos (2009-09-05). "Mount Zion Hotel's military secret". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
^ Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am. "Blame soft grease pencils: Violence and absurdity in Jerusalem from 1948 to 1967". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
^ "Exploring former no-man's-land". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-07-23.