“Every corner had a synagogue”..

 “ My family came from Turkey, mostly on youth aliyah. I have so many stories about their experiences, but the most important one to share is about where they lived. They were initially brought to kibbutzim, but then settled in Yemin Moshe, which at the time (in the 50s) was a dangerous neighborhood near no man’s land and the Jordanian border. Everyone sent there was Sephardi and/or Mizrachi for that reason. Every corner had a synagogue, for every nusach and country of origin imaginable. All of a sudden, post-Six Day War, Yemin Moshe was safe and desirable...and all of the Sephardim and Mizrachim were kicked out (some by landlords, some by the government based on the terms of their initial relocation, some by gentrification). They were sent to the Katamonim (NOT Katamon), which at that point was also a rough neighborhood. For decades afterward (well into their 80s), my cousins would get up on Shabbat mornings and walk over an hour to get to Yemin Moshe, because that’s where they first made a home, and it’s where their synagogues remain. Over the years people have died, and the congregations have condensed into one, but it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever prayed, with gorgeous murals and windows facing the old city walls. Most families I know who are connected to it still go back for their milestone events, no matter what. (...aside from that synagogue, Yemin Moshe today is a 100% gentrified “artists’ colony”, filled with mostly empty second homes for rich Ashkenazim).”