Mount Scopus, Mountain summit in northeast Jerusalem, Israel

Mount Scopus rises to 826 meters and offers sweeping views across Jerusalem and the surrounding desert landscape from its summit. The hilltop is shaped by the Hebrew University campus and the British War Cemetery, which define its physical character.

In 66 CE the 12th Roman Legion under Cestius camped on Mount Scopus during the Great Jewish Revolt. In 70 CE the same legion, with the 15th and 5th, used the height as a base for the final siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple, while the 10th Legion held the Mount of Olives. The Crusaders used it as a base in 1099.

The Hebrew University occupies much of the summit and shapes how locals and visitors experience the place, with its campus buildings and library drawing students and scholars daily. The site holds special meaning for many as a symbol of education and learning in the region.

Access to the summit is by the 2.4-kilometre road that climbs from the Sheikh Jarrah area, the same narrow route that served the fortnightly convoys during the 1948–1967 exclave period. The campus, Hadassah hospital and the British War Cemetery sit close together on the ridge, so they can be covered on foot in one visit. The Mount of Olives and the Judaean desert are visible from the eastern edge.

The Hebrew University was inaugurated on 1 April 1925, seven years after its foundation stone was laid on 24 July 1918. During the 1948 war the campus became an Israeli enclave inside Jordanian-held territory, supplied by a fortnightly convoy of two armoured vehicles and a truck that carried books down from the National Library on the return trip.