Cats of Jerusalem

The people of Jerusalem claim that when Israel was under the British Mandate (1917-1948), there were plagues and poverty in the crowded Jewish Quarter in the Old City. The British decided to bring cats from Cyprus to get rid of all the rats.

Everywhere in Israel you see cats. In fact, cats are everywhere all around the Middle East due to the good weather conditions. You might call them ‘stray cats’ but when looking more closely you will notice that most of the street cats in Israel are well taken care of. Many of them have a cut in one of their ears, meaning that they were nurtured by the veterinarian services of the municipality. Another thing you might notice is that there are many feeding corners where people put food and water for the cats. I often mention that there are no squirrels in Israel. Instead, we have cats...

The cats of Jerusalem, however, are a special breed. They are usually furrier and more beautiful than the other streets cats in Israel. As a tour guide for more then 30 years, I’ve seen many cats in Israel and I find the Jerusalem cats special.

Many tourist sites adopt a cat and give it a name. Over the years, being a cat lover, I became friendly with those cats and look for them every time I come to the area with a group. Among them there are three which I want to tell you about.

Meet Felix.

Felix was adopted by the staff of a ‘Emek Tzurim Sifting Project’, located on the western slope of Mount Scopus.

This project was created in-order to save as many ancient artifacts as possible from thousands of tons of debris which were cleared from Temple Mount, the holiest place for the Jewish people. The mount which is also called Mount Moriah is the place where it is believed Abraham was about to offer Isaac to God and where the first and second Temple stood. Since the 7th century, the mount is under the custody of the ‘Wakff’, the Muslim religious authority.

The Golden dome, ultimately featuring in every image of Jerusalem, is a shrine built in 691 over the rock which is believed to be the rock from which Muhamad ascended to heaven on a mythological horse with wings called ‘El Buraque’. Until 1967, the entire Old City of Jerusalem was part of Jordan and Jewish people could not visit the Wailing Wall, a remnant of the Temple.

After the six- day war, in 1967, Israel started massive archaeological digs around the Temple Mount to reveal the remains of the history going back 3,000 years. Jerusalem is the most excavated city in the world, but no systematic archaeological excavation has ever taken place on the Temple Mount itself.

In 1999, the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement conducted illegal renovations on the Temple Mount and disposed of over 9,000 tons of dirt mixed with invaluable archaeological artifacts. Though Israeli antiquities law requires a salvage excavation before construction at archaeological sites, this illegal bulldozing destroyed innumerable artifacts: veritable treasures that would have provided a rare glimpse of the region’s rich history. The earth and the artifacts within were dumped as garbage in the nearby Kidron Valley. In a bold move, archaeologists Dr. Gabriel Barkay and Zachi Dvira retrieved the matter from the dump, and in 2004, they started sifting it. Their initiative became the Temple Mount Sifting Project (TMSP) with the goal of rescuing ancient artifacts and conducting research to enhance our understanding of the archeology and history of the Temple Mount. Over the years, it has grown into a project of international significance. With the help of nearly 200,000 volunteers and tourists who visit the site. I highly recommend to read more about this important place in the link – https://tmsifting.org/en/

Meet Saker

Saker in Arabic means sugar, and this cat is sweet indeed. He belongs to Nader Zaro who owns a coffee shop on Via Dolorosa in the Old City. Nader lives above the coffee shop where his family lives for the last 110 years. He raised 7 children who are all married and has 20 grandchildren. I’ve known Nader for quite some time and love to stop at his coffee shop with groups while we climb the steps of the Via Dolorosa.

His shop is located just after the 6th station of Via Dolorosa where the good woman Veronica wiped Jesus face with a cloth, later to be known as ‘Veronica’s veil’.

Nader loves all animals but always owned cats. People often stop at his coffee shop to rest, and besides good coffee you can get a freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.

Meet Mitzie

Mitzie is not alive today, but her portrait can be seen in some of the art works being sold in the Cardo, in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

The Old City of Jerusalem consists of four quarters. They are not divided by a wall or a fence and you can walk between them without even paying attention that you entered another quarter. They are historically the residential quarters of different people. I a way, it is like you have a ‘China town’ in some big cities in the U.S.

The biggest quarter is the Muslim Quarter, then the Christian Quarter where most of the Christian schools and institutes are located, the Jewish Quarter where Jewish people lived since the Hellenistic period some 2200 years ago and the small Armenian Quarter where Christian Armenians who fled from Armenia reside. The cities of the Ancient Roman Empire had a special tradition of decorating main roads with spectacular stone columns. These streets were called “Cardo” and Jerusalem, just like any other Roman city, had a Cardo of its own. This ancient street originates at Damascus Gate in the north, running southwards through the Old City, terminating at Zion Gate.

After 1967, when Israel acquired back the aria of the Jewish Quarter, massive archaeological digs took place, revealing the remains of the Roman and Byzantine Cardo. It has been decided to restore a section of the Cardo with shops and relive the vitality market atmosphere from 2000 years ago.

Mitzie was a beautiful white cat who lived in the Judaica shop of Mark Bar-On in the Cardo. Mark immigrated to Israel from Kiev in Ukraine and worked as an advisor to formerly Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In 1984 he opened his shop at the renovated Cardo and is known for having the largest and richer prayers shawls collection in Jerusalem. Mark’s father was a ‘Prisoner of Zion’ in the former Soviet Union and dreamt that his son will immigrate to Israel.

Like many former Soviet Union people, Mark loves cats. Beside Mitzie he has another gray cat who can still be seen near the shop. Both cats had little beds in Mark’s office and I used to visit them every time I was in the Cardo.

Many vendors in the Old City Bazaar own cats. They are part of the scenery and cats lovers like me enjoy petting them while walking around in the picturesque allies.

So, next time you visit Jerusalem, pay attention to the Cats of Jerusalem. They don't live forever, but their pictures and memories will last like the stones of this city.