Located on the main road to Hadassah Hospital, Kiryat Yovel is a densely populated neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. While it is now a destination for young couples and families who seek an alternative to more expensive properties in Jerusalem, Kiryat Yovel has historically functioned as a refuge for people who had nowhere else to go. After the State of Israel was declared in 1948, thousands of Jewish refugees fled to Israel from the surrounding Arab countries. In 1952, Kiryat Yovel was established as a haven for these immigrants, beginning as a tent city.
Housing projects, in Hebrew called “shikunim,” were quickly built to accommodate the flood of refugees. There was such an urgent need for housing in Kiryat Yovel that the stricture that enforces that buildings be faced with Jerusalem stone was waived, so that buildings could be completed at greater speed. Kiryat Yovel means “Jubilee town,” and was thus named to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Jewish National Fund. Some parts of the neighborhood became more upscale a decade later, as professors and teachers began to make Kiryat Yovel their residence of choice. Today young couples and families with children comprise most of the 25,000 residents of Kiryat Yovel. There are therefore ample facilities to accommodate the needs of families, such as a community center, swimming pools and a library. The "Mifletzet," a huge and fanciful sculpture in Rabinovich Park, caters to children as well: the three tongues of the monster are playground slides. Designed by a French artist, the sculpture has since become a citywide landmark.
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