Givat Ram

Givat Ram campus of the Hebrew University

Givat Ram (Hebrew: גבעת רם, lit. Mighty Hill) is a neighborhood in central Jerusalem, Israel. The Knesset and Israeli government offices are located in Givat Ram, as are the Israel Museum, one of the two campuses of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Israeli Supreme Court and the Binyanei HaUma convention center.

History

Before Israel's War of Independence in 1948, the area was known by the Arabs as Sheikh Badr. In December 1949, the Israeli government headed by David Ben-Gurion, passed a resolution to build a government precinct in Jerusalem. Givat Ram, a hill in the west of the city, which had been an assembly point for the Gadna Youth Battalions, was chosen for this purpose. The topography of the site, made up of three ridges, meshed with the idea of establishing three clusters of buildings - the government precinct, a university campus and a museum.