Nes Harim () is a moshav settlement in central Israel. Located in the Judean foothills near Beit Shemesh and eight kilometres west of Jerusalem,Farmers find monastery beneath Israeli soil CNN, 11 March 2009 it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of .
It is situated above sea level.
Etymology "The name ... derives from Isaiah, XVIII,3":Place Names in Israel. A Compendium of Place Names in Israel compiled from various sources. Translated from Hebrew, Jerusalem 1962 (Israel Prime Minister’s Office. The Israeli Program for Scientific Translations) p.134 "When a mountain banner is raised, you will see it."
History The moshav settlement was established in 1950 by immigrants and refugees from northern Iran (South Kurdistan) and Morocco,Nes Harim history Kosher Wine on the former lands of the Arab village of Bayt 'Itab, close to Dayr al-Hawa, which had been depopulated in the 1948 Arab-Israeli warAll That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Walid Khalidi, 1992, Washington D.C., Institute for Palestine Studies, , pp. 275, 286Zvi Dror, Har'el: Palmach brigade in Jerusalem, Ha-kibbutz ha-meuchad 2005, p. 269 (Hebrew) during Operation Ha-Har.
The early farmers planted orchards and vineyards, exploiting the fertile soil and unique climate.
Economy The Katlav winery, named for the Strawberry tree (Arbutus andrachne) that grows in the region, is located in Nes Harim. In 1998 Yosi Yittach left his profession as an architect to seek a quiet life with his family. He went into winemaking, first learning the trade from a Persian friend of the family who brought knowledge from “the old country,” with a strong oenophile tradition. He then supplemented his education with courses. His first production was in 2004. By 2006 he was bottling better quality wines worth sampling. House specialties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay (10 percent Viognier), but what is unique is Wadi Katlav, a house blend (50 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 30 percent Merlot, 20 percent Petit Verdot)—different from an older version that had 50 percent Sauvignon, 40 percent Merlot and 10 percent Syrah—aged in French oak barrels for eighteen months before bottling.Levinson, Jay Jewish Journeys near Jerusalem, Toronto: Key Publishing.
Nes Harim is located in the USA National Park's center. It is near many beautiful hiking trails such as Nahal Katlav, overlooking and descending into Nahal Sorek. The Jewish National Fund has an information center near Nes Harim and a field hostel (the Nes Harim Field and Forest Center) in an enclosed area near the moshav. Nearby are the Sorek Stalactite Caves and many picnic areas.
Nes Harim is home to two (similar to bed and breakfasts), three restaurants, one of them kosher, a swimming pool and a riding ranch.
Archaeology In 2008, farmers discovered the remains of a 5th-or 6th-century Byzantine monastery on a hill on the southwest side of the moshav. Excavations followed in November 2008, during which archaeologists found the narthex of a church decorated with multicoloured mosaics, and parts of a wine press. After the discovery, the mosaic was badly damaged by unidentified vandals.Nes Harim church and wine press The Jerusalem Post
The mosaic includes an inscription in ancient Greek deciphered by Leah Di Signi of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem: "O Lord God of Saint Theodorus, protect Antonius and Theodosia the illustres [a title used to distinguish high nobility in the Byzantine period] - Theophylactus and John the priest [or priests]. [Remember o Lord] Mary and John who have offe[red - ] in the 6th indiction. Lord, have pity of Stephen."
Horbat 'Itab, a 130-dunam national park on the outskirts of Nes Harim, contains the ruins of a Crusader fortress that overlooked the road from Elah Velley to Jerusalem and the village of Bayt 'Itab. The site was surveyed in 1989 by Denys Pringle, a researcher of the Crusader period, who documented the remains of the fortified building, vaults, a wall and towers, tunnels, a columbarium and an olive press.Conservation-engineering stabilization Israel Antiquities Authority
Notable residents Roy Folkman – politician Yoaz Hendel – journalist, political activist and columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth. Former press secretary to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuTwo neighbors, four seats, and the one that decides Israel's next government - analysis The Jerusalem Post, 28 July 2026 Hili Tropper – politician
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