History

Confederation House is located opposite the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, on the seam-line between the Old City and the new - an appropriate place for an organization that seeks to serve as a bridge between peoples, to renew an ancient dialogue between cultures and nationalities, and to symbolize the hope for a better future, even in difficult times.

The land upon which Confederation House stands and its very walls echo a rich and colorful past: from a home for the aged constructed here in the 5th century CE to a monastery built in the 7th century, from agricultural structures to Greek Orthodox buildings.

Since 1984 Confederation House stands as a combination of contemporary additions and carefully restored portions of a 19th century dwelling. This building was reported in 1863 to have been "the dwelling of a Muslim family which rented it from the Greek Orthodox Church over 140 years ago" ("for a paltry sum" the writer noted "they allow the Christians to enter in order to see all sorts of miracles, including the chain of St. George, which within 3 days will cure any insane person fastened to it").

Old and new, East and West - all these intertwine in the architectural style of Confederation House, as they do in its programs and audiences.