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Boom 'Town

A forgotten
valley on the
edge. of
Jerusalem is
becoming the
city's new
downtown.

CAROL UNGER

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

once sleepy valley
in the southwest
corner of Jerusalem
is soon to become
the city's next
downtown. Nestled
between the Holy-
land Hotel and the
Gilo neighborhood,
an area once bordering
Jordan, the Manhat
Valley was largely over-
looked until Jerusalem's
reunification in 1967.
Even then, only nature
lovers and the residents
of Malha, an old Arab
village on the adjoining
hillside which was aban-
doned in 1948 and reset-
tled by Jewish immi-
grants, were aware of its
existence.
Over 20 years later,
the developers have
woken up and seized
Manhat with a
vengeance. The first pro-
ject to capture the head-
lines was the $25 million
soccer stadium named in
honor of Jerusalem
Mayor Teddy Kollek. The
12,000-seat arena, which
houses the rival Hapoel
and Betar Jerusalem
teams, opened its doors
in September 1992 after
a long and bitter contro-
versy. For some 15 years,
the powerful Orthodox
factions in the Knesset
and City Hall opposed
the stadium, perceiving
Saturday game-playing
as desecration of the
Sabbath.
Below the stadium is
the 12-year-old Israel
Tennis Center. The Gold-
berg Sports Hall, a
2,200-seat basketball
stadium, opened in 1982.
In addition to basketball
games, it also has exer-
cise classes for adults,
classes in gymnastics for
children and Israeli
dancing.
The area is fast becom-
ing an international
sports center, the soccer
stadium hosting the

The Canion Jerusalem mall.

finale of last fall's
Jerusalem marathon and
the basketball stadium a
recent international judo
championship. Adjoining
the sports complex is a
brand-new shopping mall
— Canion Jerusalem —
initiated by Canadian-
Israeli developer David
Azrieli. Opened this
spring, it is reputed to be
the largest indoor shop-
ping and entertainment
complex in the Middle
East.
The $80 million mall
has 110,000 square feet
of retail space, with
international fashion
branches such as Laura
Ashley and Benetton;
branches of the country's
two leading rival depart-
ment stores, Hamashbir
Lazarchan and Shekem;
a large supermarket and

an eight-cinema complex.
Several kosher fast
food restaurants feature
panoramic picture win-
dows with spectacular
views of the valley, and
Azriel has commissioned
murals by Israeli artist
Ivan Schwebel. A 180-
foot clock tower is visible
from all over Jerusalem,
and relics dating from
the Canaanite period,
unearthed during. exca-
vations, are displayed at
an on-site museum.
Although several mem-
bers of the Jerusalem
City Council have pub-
licly expressed skepti-
cism about the need for
yet another mall, espe-
cially in today's economic
climate, Mr. Azrieli is
optimistic about profit
potential. "Jerusalem is
Israel's most populous

city," he observes. "Even
if a lot of people spend
small sums of money, the
investors will still turn a
profit."
A 15-acre technology
park is under construc-
tion and expected to
open this year. Dedicated
to science-based and
high-tech industries, the
$50 million park is
designed for electronics,
pharmaceuticals, bio-
tech, optics, telecommu-
nications and software
industries to blend with
the unique landscape.
Another neighbor in
the valley is the
Jerusalem Zoological
Park. Until last year, the
zoo, better known as the
Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
for its world-famous col-
lection of biblical birds

BOOM TOWN page 38

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