The Trappist Monastery

The area of Latrun (Hebrew: לטרון‎) (al-Latrun in Arabic) is a region of the Ayalon Valley, about 15 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. Latrun is the first of the hilly ridges that a traveller will pass while ascending along the classical highway to Jerusalem. Its significant strategic value made it the site of many battles, though it has recently become the site of several tourist attractions. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1296x972, 190 KB) Summary Description: The Trappists Monastery at Latrun, Israel. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1296x972, 190 KB) Summary Description: The Trappists Monastery at Latrun, Israel. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Ajalon - and Aijalon, place of deer. ... Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim) (Standard) Yerushalayim or Yerushalaim Arabic commonly القـُدْس (Al-Quds); officially in Israel أورشليم القدس (Urshalim-Al-Quds) Name Meaning Hebrew: (see below), Arabic: The Holiness Government City District Jerusalem Population 724,000 (2006) Jurisdiction 123,000 dunams (123 km²) Jerusalem (Hebrew:  , Yerushaláyim or Yerushalaim; Arabic:  , al-Quds, the Holiness)[2... Ramla (Hebrew רמלה Ramlāh; Arabic الرملة ar-Ramlah, colloquial Ramleh), is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... Highway 1 (Hebrew: ), is the main highway connecting Tel Aviv with Jerusalem. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ...

History

In the Bible, the Ayalon Valley was the site of a battle in which Joshua defeated the Amorites; Latrun was also the scene of many attacks during the Crusades. A crusader stronghold there, "Le toron des chevaliers" (The Tower of the Knights), may be the origin of the name "Latrun". Another theory is that the name originates from the name the Christian pilgrims gave to the town "Castellum bonu Latronis" (The Fortress of the Good Thief). Little remains of the castle, which was held by the Templars by 1187. The main tower was later surrounded with a rectangular enclosure with vaulted chambers. This in turn was enclosed by an outer court, of which one tower survives. Tanakh (Hebrew: ‎) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Joshua praying God to stop the Sun by Gustave Doré In Jewish mythology, Joshua or Yehoshua (Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, Tiberian: , Israeli: YÉ™hoshúa) was an Israelite leader who succeeded Moses. ... Amorite (Hebrew ’emōrî, Egyptian Amar, Akkadian Tidnum or AmurrÅ«m (corresponding to Sumerian MAR.TU or Martu) refers to a Semitic people who occupied the country west of the Euphrates from the second half of the third millennium BC, and also the god they worshipped (see Amurru). ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ... The Seal of the Knights — the two riders have been interpreted as a sign of poverty or the duality of monk/soldier. ... // Events May 1 - Battle of Cresson - Saladin defeats the crusaders July 4 - Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, at the Battle of Hattin. ...

In the year 1890, a monastery was established at Latrun by French monks of the Trappist order. The monks established a successful vineyard and today produce a variety of good wines. 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... The Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance, or Trappists follow the Rule of St. ...

The book All that Remains by historian Walid Khalidi, describes the small village of Al-Latrun that grew up here from the late 19th century, with residents coming from nearby Emmaus. According to the same source, the villagers were evacuated to Emmaus in 1949 as a result of the war and Latrun's location at the armistice line. Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio, 1601 Emmaus is the name of two places in Palestine. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

1948 Arab-Israeli War

The Taggart police fort

Following the 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the British authorities built a number of police forts of similar design (named Taggart forts after their designer^[1]) in various locations; Latrun was chosen as such a site due to its strategic significance, particularly its dominant position above the old Tel-Aviv-Jerusalem highway passing immediately below the hill-line. That police fort had an enormous impact on the outcome of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. As the last British troops departed from Palestine Mandate on May 14, 1948, the fort was occupied by the Transjordanian Arab Legion. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1296x972, 125 KB) Summary Description: Former police building in Latrun, Israel. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1296x972, 125 KB) Summary Description: Former police building in Latrun, Israel. ... The 1936-1939 Arab revolt in Palestine was an uprising during the British mandate by Palestinian Arabs in Palestine which lasted from 1936 to 1939. ... A style of militarized police fortress constructed throughout Palestine during the British Mandatory period. ... Hebrew תֵּל אָבִיב-יָפוֹ Arabic تَلْ أَبِيبْ يَافَا Name Meaning Spring Hill Founded in 1909 Government City District Tel Aviv Population 382. ... i am amn idotThe 1948 Arab-Israeli War is the first in a series of armed conflicts fought between the State and i am the greatest of Israel and its Arab neighbors in the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict. ... Flag Palestine and Transjordan were incorporated (under different legal and administrative arrangements) into the British Mandate of Palestine, issued by the League of Nations to Great Britain on 29 September, 1923 Capital Not specified Organizational structure League of Nations Mandate High Commissioner  - 1920 — 1925 Sir Herbert Louis Samuel  - 1945 — 1948... The Arab Legion (Al-jaish Al-arabi) was Transjordans and later on also Jordans regular army. ...

The Legionnaires used the fort to shell Israeli traffic on the highway and thus effectively imposed a siege upon Jerusalem. During early June, a rough alternative route was developed to its south that was nicknamed "Burma Road" after the American and British route into Nationalist China during World War II. Burma Road The Burma Road is a road linking Burma (also called Myanmar) with China. ...

Just 10 days after the declaration of Israel, on May 24, 1948, the fort was assaulted by combined forces of Israel's newly-created 7th Brigade, and a battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade (where Ariel Sharon served as a platoon commander; he was wounded with most of his platoon and later recalled the decision to retreat to a nearby vale as the most crucial tactical decision of his life). The attack (codenamed "Bin-Nun A") failed, with heavy casualties. A week later, on June 1st, the fort withstood yet another attack ("Bin-Nun B"), even though its outer defences were breached. The 7th Brigade (Hebrew: Hativa Sheva). ... The Alexandroni Brigade (the 3rd Brigade) was an Israeli brigade that fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. ...   (Hebrew: , also known by his diminutive Arik אָרִיק) (born February 27, 1928) is a former Israeli politician and general. ...

Many of the Israeli conscripts were recent survivors of the Holocaust and were new immigrants; most were poorly trained. The equipment was also very poor, and artillery support was lacking. The results of the battle were mixed. The official combined number of casualties for both the battles was 139 (an extremely high figure for an assault conducted mainly by two battalions). As records are carefully kept for each fallen soldier, this figure seems exact. While the Tel-Aviv Jerusalem highway was not secured, the two Battles of Latrun can be seen as a limited strategic success, since they contained the Arab Legion and allowed the opening of the bypass road, which lifted the siege from Jerusalem. This article is becoming very long. ... Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, ascent or going up) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ...

Aluf Mickey Marcus was killed by accident June 22, 1948 at Latrun. Aluf is the term used for general in the Israeli Defence Forces. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

Tanks on display at a memorial to the Israeli Armored Corps located at Latrun.

The battle, however, is often brought up as a failure of much greater proportions than it was; for instance, in 1985, Member of Knesset Doctor Uzi Landau had claimed that 2000 soldiers died in the fighting which would make up a third of all Israeli casualties of the 1948 war. When reminded about the real casualty count, Landau agreed to lower his estimate to 1000. Image File history File links TankMemorial. ... Image File history File links TankMemorial. ... The modern Knesset building, Israels parliament, in Jerusalem Though similar-sounding, Beit Knesset (בית כנסת) literally means House of Assembly, and refers to a synagogue. ... Uzi Landau (born August 2, 1943) is an Israeli Knesset member representing the Likud political party. ...

In the 1949 cease-fire agreement, the fort remained a salient under Jordanian control, which was in turn surrounded by a perimeter of no man's land. Under the cease-fire agreement, Jordan was not to disrupt Israeli travelers using this road; in practice, constant sniper attacks led Israel to build a bypass road around the bulge. In military terms, a salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. ... Map of the West Bank today Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan. ... 29th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Division, Canadian Corps. ...

Today

In 1967's Six-Day War, Latrun was captured by Israeli forces. The main-road to Jerusalem was reopened and the fort became a museum and a memorial site for the Israeli Armor Corps. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Combatants Israel Active: Egypt Syria Jordan Aided by: Iraq  Kuwait  Saudi Arabia  Sudan  Algeria Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Mordechai Hod, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 264,000 (incl. ... Armor Corps logo The Israeli Armor Corps is a corps of the Israel Defense Forces, since 1998 subordinate to GOC Army Headquarters. ...

The Armored Corps complex at the Taggart fort is today known as "Yad La-Shiryon" center, which includes a museum, a display of over 110 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles (including the Merkava and T-72 tanks), an amphitheatre, an auditorium, a synagogue and memorial for fallen soldiers of Israeli armored corps. An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, equipped with protection against hostile attacks and often mounted weapons. ... For the religious/mystical connotations of the word, see Merkabah. ... The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1971. ... The memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii commemorates American dead from wars in the Pacific. ...

The Trappist Monastery is considered a popular tourist attraction with focus on its production of fine wines. The Miniature Israel tourist attraction was opened across the street in 2002. A glass of red wine Wine is an alcoholic beverage that is made by fermenting grapes or grape juice. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

In 1970, an intentional community known as Oasis of Peace (Hebrew: נוה שלום‎, Neve Shalom) was jointly founded by Israeli Arabs and Jews on a hilltop south of the Latrun ridge with the stated goal of engaging in educational work for peace and justice. In 1977, the Israeli settlement of Mevo Horon was built between Latrun and the West Bank proper to secure the Israeli claim to the region. Because of Latrun's strategic location above the most traveled highway in Israel, there is overwhelming consensus in Israel that the Latrun Salient won't be relinquished as part of any settlement to the Israeli Palestinian conflict. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to promote a much higher degree of social interaction than other communities. ... The Oasis of Peace, known as Neve Shalom (נווה שלום) in Hebrew and Wahat al-Salam in Arabic is a village jointly founded by Israeli Jews and Arabs (Palestinians) in an attempt to show that the two cultures can live side by side peacefully. ... “Hebrew” redirects here. ... Arab citizens of Israel, Arabs of Israel or Arab population of Israel are terms used by Israeli authorities and Israeli Hebrew-speaking media to refer to non-Jewish Arabs who are citizens of the State of Israel. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Map of Israeli settlements (magenta) in the West Bank. ...

In July 2006, Latrun hosted a Birthright Mega Event concert, celebrating the sixth anniversary of the Birthright Israel program, and its 100,000th partcipant. For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... The official logo of Taglit-Birthright Israel Birthright Israel, also known as Taglit-Birthright Israel (whose logo is trademarked with lowercase b and i) is a Zionist organization dedicated to helping Jews who have never been to Israel on an organized trip to travel there. ...

Notes and References

1. ^ Note that the forts commonly called "Taggart" forts in Israel are named after Sir Charles Tegart - a misspelling apparently from transliteration of the name from English to Hebrew and then back to English.

Kennedy, Hugh (2000). Crusader Castles. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-79913-9.  Sir Charles Augustus Tegart (1881 - 1946) was the second son of Reverend Joseph Poulter Tegart. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ...

Further reading

• Latrun (2002, ISBN 965-7130-10-7) is a novel by Ram Oren describing the two Battles of Latrun and the events surrounding them.

A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Ram Oren (born Tel Aviv, 1936) is a popular Israeli author. ...

See also

• List of villages depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war

// Several of these have been re-settled since the Six-Day War. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

:Category:Latrun

• Yad Lashiryon, the armored corps memorial site and museum at Latrun:
  • Official home page
  • Photo gallery at davidpride.com
• Latrun tanks photo gallery, The gallery of annotated photos of the tanks
• Latrun support armoured vehicles photos, The gallery of annotated photos of the armoured vehicles that support military operations
• Latrun monuments, The gallery of annotated photos of the monuments at the Latrun museum dedicated to the fallen soldiers
• Latrun, from the Jewish Agency for Israel
• al-Latrun, from www.palestineremembered.com (Palestinian site that sets out to document villages destroyed or evacuated as a result of the 1948 and 1967 wars.)
• Mini Israel

Coordinates: 31°50′08″N, 34°58′49″E Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...