Beit HaNassi

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The office of the President (2007)

Beit HaNassi (Hebrew: בֵּית הַנָּשִׂיא‎ ("President's House"), also known as Mishkan HaNassi (Hebrew: מִשְׁכָּן הַנָּשִׂיא‎), is the official residence of the President of Israel. It is located in the Talbiya neighborhood of Jerusalem.

History[]

Israel's first president, Chaim Weizmann, lived in his private villa in Rehovot. His successor, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, lived in a modest apartment in Rehavia and used a wooden cabin, known as the "tzrif", or "cabin", as his official reception hall. After President Ben-Zvi's death in 1963, the government decided to build a permanent residence for the head of state. The original idea was to incorporate it in a complex of government ministries, but the state's third president, Zalman Shazar, who was very much a man of the people, wanted to live in a residential area and not in splendid isolation, and persuaded the government.[1] As a result, they approved the construction of a permanent presidential residence on a 10-dunam plot in Talbiya.[2] A competition for the architectural design was launched in 1964 and limited to Israeli architects.[1] Of some 200 entries, the design submitted by Jerusalemite architect was selected.[2] Beit HaNassi was inaugurated in 1971 by President Shazar.[1][2] The designs came under harsh criticism from different public figures.[2]

During the visit to Israel of Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, President Shimon Peres inaugurated a new custom that all visiting world leaders would plant an olive tree in the Beit HaNassi peace garden.[3]

In October 2017, work was completed on a new, enlarged entrance to Beit Hanassi to enable faster processing of visitors to major events at the residence.[4]

Gallery[]

  • Meeting room in 2008

  • U.S. President Clinton at menorah lighting ceremony at Beit HaNassi, 1998

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Greer Fay Cashman (30 April 2009). "Rothschild family steps in to rescue Beit Hanassi". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d David Kroyanker (3 March 2010). "From modesty to monstrosity". Haaretz. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
  3. ^ Pope To Lay 'Roots Of Peace' In Beit Hanassi Visit Archived 2012-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Turkish Weekly, 1 May 2009
  4. ^ New entrance for president's house

Coordinates: 31°46′11″N 35°12′51″E / 31.76972°N 35.21417°E / 31.76972; 35.21417

External links[]

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