Montefiore Windmill officially opened

"We think that you have helped establish a powerful memorial to our friendship and our common ideals." This was said by PM Benjamin Natanyahu on Tuesday night during the opening of the Montefiore Windmill. Netanyahu stated that this is the only windmill in Jerusalem and in the whole Middle-East that started working again after more than 100 years. Present were mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, and the chairman of Christians for Israel Holland, the organization that took the initiative to restore the windmill.

The windmill was built in 1858 to produce flour for the poor inhabitants of the Yemin Moshe neighborhood. The initiative for building the windmill came from Montefiore, a British filantropist. Five years ago, s Dutch windmill expert suggested the idea of restoring the windmill. The board of Christians for Israel Holland saw the essence of the restoration: the mill is a national monument in Israel, and it had to become a symbol of hope again, and a sign of friendship between The Netherlands and Israel. The project was carried out by Dutch contractor Arjan Lont and windmill builder Willem Dijkstra, in close cooperation with the Jerusalem Foundation, the City of Jerusalem, and later on the Israeli government .