Towards the end of 1948 Uriel Jefetz (also pronounced Chefetz) an engineering officer, suggested to hook up the blockaded Jewish quarter of Jerusalem with the rest of the city using a cable car. Before the declaration of the State of Israel, Mount Zion had been conquered in an attempt to break the blockade and yet access was limited due to Jordanian fire from the Old City walls. The cable car linked the Israeli positions on Mount Zion, with the St. John's Hospital, today's Mount Zion Hotel, and spanned 200 meters, suspended 50 meters above the valley. It was only used at night and during the day was lowered into the valley so that the Jordanians could not detect it. The single carriage could carry up to 200 kilos of supplies and the trip took only 2 minutes. The whole mechanism was kept in working order until the city was reunited in 1967 but kept a military secret until 1972 when it was first revealed. For more information visit http://www.israelnationalradio.com.
