page_title: Ben Yehuda Street (Jerusalem)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Ben Yehuda Street (Jerusalem) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Ben Yehuda Street (Jerusalem)
context_page_description: Ben Yehuda Street, known as the "Midrachov" is a major street in downtown Jerusalem, Israel. It joins with Jaffa Road and King George Street to form the Downtown Triangle central business district. It is now a pedestrian mall and closed to vehicular traffic. The street runs from the intersection of King George Street east to Zion Square and Jaffa Road. The street is named after the founder of Modern Hebrew, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda.
context_section_description: Ben Yehuda was already one of Jerusalem's main streets long before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. As a busy thoroughfare, it has been a prime target for terrorist bombings between 1948, when the worst atrocity happened, and 2001, during the Second Intifada.
  In 1983, the street was closed to automobile traffic. In Hebrew it is called a midrachov (pedestrian mall – a Hebrew neologism formed from the words "midracha" [sidewalk] and "rechov" [street]. Many of the businesses cater to tourists. The street is lined with souvenir and Judaica shops and sidewalk cafes, and street musicians play there throughout the day. It was long considered the "secular heart of Jerusalem," but since the 2000s, disaffected Orthodox Jewish youth have joined the mix of tourists and locals.
  The comedy club Off the Wall Comedy Empire (also known as Off the Wall Comedy Basement) is located in the basement at 34 Ben Yehuda Street.
caption: Ben Yehuda Street on Shabbat, when businesses are closed (view from Zion Square).
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