Ateret Cohanim’s gala celebrates reclaiming Jerusalem

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American Friends of Ateret Cohanim marked its 36th year of reclaiming Jerusalem’s Old City, with a gala at Terrace on the Park on Monday that honored founders Mati and Etya Dan, FiveTowns supporters Mark and Naomi Rubin, and D. Bernard and Ann Hoenig of Far Rockaway.

The organization, formerly known as the Jerusalem Reclamation Project, legally purchases properties in Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter — once known as the Kotel quarter — and its environs in order to grow the Holy City’s Jewish population.

Life in the reclaimed neighborhoods is often difficult for their Jewish inhabitants. A video screened at the dinner showed children in playgrounds behind metal bars. The rooftop succah of Beit Yehonatan has a heter that allows its schach to have an iron covering for protection.