‘The Mount of Olives is the pantheon of Jewish leadership’

From its panoramic overlook above the Old City, the Mount of Olives has witnessed more than 3,000 years of Jewish history. Soon, visitors will be able to experience that history in an entirely new way.

A visitor center now under construction at the world’s oldest and largest Jewish cemetery is expected to open in 2027, combining interactive technology with educational programming designed to reconnect Jews from around the world with one of Judaism’s most significant sites.

But for Jeff Daube, Israel chair of the International Committee for Har Hazeitim (the Mount of Olives), the project is about far more than a new building.

“We’re building far more than a visitor center,” Daube told JNS during an interview at the JNS News Hub in Jerusalem on July 26. “It’s going to be a jumping-off point into the cemetery so that young people will be able to engage directly with the personalities buried there and with their own heritage.”

Daube, who made aliyah from New York in 2007, previously served as Israel director of the Zionist Organization of America before joining the Mount of Olives initiative in 2010. Since then, he has helped oversee a dramatic transformation of the historic cemetery, shifting the focus from security and preservation to education and Jewish identity.

From neglected cemetery to national landmark

When Daube became involved, conditions at the Mount of Olives were dire.

A 2010 report by then-State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss described widespread neglect, repeated vandalism and serious security failures at the cemetery, where approximately 150,000 Jews are buried, including many of the most influential figures in Jewish history.

Visitors and mourners were frequently subjected to stone-throwing attacks, graves were vandalized and large sections of the cemetery had fallen into disrepair.

Working in partnership with the Israeli government, the International Committee for Har Hazeitim helped establish a police substation, install extensive security cameras and fencing, create a centralized monitoring system and increase police patrols.

“We started with three mandates: security, security and security,” Daube said.

According to Daube, the improvements have fundamentally changed conditions on the mountain.

“We haven’t had a serious act of vandalism since October 2018,” he said. “We’ve turned the mountain around—not 180 degrees yet, but about 160 degrees. We’ll take care of the other 20 percent.”

With security vastly improved, the committee has turned its attention to a new challenge: transforming the Mount of Olives into a destination that inspires Jews of every background to connect with their history.

Rather than serving simply as an information center, the new facility is designed to immerse visitors in the stories of the Jewish leaders, scholars and pioneers buried on the mountain.

Among the planned attractions is an augmented reality experience allowing visitors to point a smartphone at a gravesite and watch historical figures come alive on their screens.

“You’ll point your iPhone at the grave of Menachem Begin, for example,” Daube said. “Begin will appear on your screen and tell his story. Embedded within that story will be clues leading you to your next stop.”

The experience is also being designed for students participating remotely from Jewish schools around the world.

Besides Menachem Begin, Israel’s seventh prime minister, the cemetery contains the graves of Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, Rabbi Ovadia of Bertinoro and many other towering figures of Jewish scholarship, Zionism and public life.

“The Mount of Olives is the pantheon of Jewish leadership,” Daube said. “We want young people to understand that heritage.”

For Daube, preserving the Mount of Olives is about much more than maintaining a historic cemetery.

An educator for more than three decades before making aliyah, he sees the site as one of the Jewish world’s greatest untapped opportunities to strengthen Jewish identity.

“We’re so concerned these days about Jewish peoplehood and about Jewish identity among the young,” he said. “Here you have a fantastic opportunity to increase that Jewish identification.”

The visitor center will feature classrooms, lectures and educational programming, but Daube believes its greatest impact will come from encouraging visitors to explore the cemetery itself and connect with the lives of those buried there.

Among them are Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Hadassah founder Henrietta Szold, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, Rabbi Ovadia of Bertinoro, the Or HaChaim and countless other rabbis, scholars, Zionist leaders and public figures whose contributions helped shape Jewish history.

The educational experience, Daube said, is intended for visitors of every background.

“The visitor center will be open to everybody,” he said. “Jews, Christians and anyone who wants to understand our history and our connection to Jerusalem.”

He argued that at a time of growing misinformation about Israel and Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives offers something few other sites can.

“You can argue about many things,” he said. “But you cannot argue with the Mount of Olives. There are 150,000 Jews buried there, dating back some 3,000 years. That is incontrovertible evidence of our continuous presence in Jerusalem.”

Beyond its religious and historical significance, Daube believes the Mount of Olives remains strategically vital to Jerusalem’s future.

The two-mile ridge stretches from Mount Scopus in the north to the southern edge of eastern Jerusalem, overlooking both the Old City and the capital’s eastern approaches.

According to Daube, maintaining Israeli control of the ridge is essential to protecting Jerusalem and preserving access to Jewish communities east of the capital.

“There are many reasons people become involved in this initiative,” he said. “Some because of security, others because of kavod hamet—honoring the dead. My reason is education. But all of those reasons are important.”

Construction of the visitor center is expected to be completed in 2027, although Daube acknowledged that major infrastructure projects rarely proceed exactly on schedule.

Even before its official opening, however, visitors continue to arrive in growing numbers. Daube regularly leads tours of the cemetery, where daily attendance has risen dramatically over the past decade.

His long-term vision extends far beyond tourism.

He hopes the Mount of Olives will become an essential stop for Birthright Israel participants, Jewish day school students and visitors from around the world seeking a deeper understanding of Jewish history and identity.

“If young people come here and go back to their schools and universities saying, ‘You have to visit that place because it was an incredible educational experience,’ then we’ve succeeded,” he said, noting that more information can be obtained on the International Committee for Har Hazeitim’s website.

Security, Daube stressed, will always remain the committee’s first priority. But his ultimate goal is to ensure that future generations view the Mount of Olives not simply as an ancient cemetery, but as a living classroom connecting Jews with their past.

“If we can attract young people to the Mount of Olives,” he said, “then I’ll die a happy man.”

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