Benvenisti Trust

A Jewish trust founded by Jewish philanthropists and registered with Jerusalem’s sharia court in 1899, when the area was under Ottoman rule. The trust built structures in Silwan to house Jewish immigrants from Yemen, who abandoned the area during the 1936–39 Great Palestinian Revolt. Today, 700 Palestinians live in this area, known as Batn al-Hawa. In 2001, Ateret Cohanim received permission from the Jerusalem District Court to revive the trust and serve as its trustees, and, in 2002, the Custodian General transferred 5.2 dunums of land in Batn al-Hawa to the trust. Since then, Ateret Cohanim has controlled the trust, utilizing it to displace Palestinians from Silwan and settle Jews in their place.