Abu Ghosh (Arabic: أبو غوش; Hebrew: אבו גוש) is an Arab-Israeli local council in Israel, located 10 kilometers (6 mi) west of Jerusalem on the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem highway.

'Village of the Grapes'), has led to its identification with the biblical site of Kiryat Ye'arim (Hebrew meaning: "Village of Woods"),[2] the town to which the Ark of the Covenant was taken after it had left Beth-shemesh (1 Samuel 6:1–7:2).

He noted: "By the wayside I noticed, in quantities, plants of rue (Sadab), which grows here of its own accord on these hills, and in the desert places.

In the village of Kariat-al-'Anab there is a fine spring of sweet water gushing out from under a stone, and they have placed all around troughs, with small buildings contiguous (for the shelter of travellers).

"[9][10] The Crusaders, who called the village Fontenoid, believed it was the site of Emmaus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke and built a church there.

Of the 36 Arab Muslim villages in these hills, Abu Ghosh was the only one that remained neutral, and in many cases helped to keep the road open for Jewish convoys.

[37] During Operation Nachshon the Haganah reconsidered an attack on Abu Ghosh due to opposition of the Lehi, whose local commanders were on good terms with the mukhtar (village chief).

[40] Abu Ghosh mayor Salim Jaber attributed in 2007 the good relations with Israel to the great importance attached to being hospitable: "We welcome anybody, regardless of religion or race.

"[41] According to a village elder interviewed by The Globe and Mail: "Perhaps because of the history of feuding with the Arabs around us we allied ourselves with the Jews ... against the British.

"[41] During the early years of the State of Israel the village was subjected to repeated searches by the army and anyone who had not registered as resident in November 1948 could be expelled.

"[42] Knesset member Moshe Erem accused the army of excessive force, a charge that Prime Minister Ben-Gurion denied.

Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, concerned about international reaction, argued that there should be more searches with fewer people being deported at one time and then only adult males.

"[44] In 2017 an archaeological dig began at Deir el-'Azar, the site of the convent, led by Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University and Christophe Nicolle and Thomas Römer of the College de France.

[47][6][46] He speculated that the platform might have housed an administration compound that included a temple of the Ark, with the aim of enforcing the domination of Israel over Judah.

[6] The hilltop shows signs of intensive settlement activity during the Iron IIC period (700–586 BCE), when the rectangular podium at the summit was reconstructed.

[6] Renewed reconstruction of the podium took place in the late Hellenistic period, possibly as part of the fortification works undertaken by the Seleucid general Bacchides.

"Monastery of el-ʿAzar" may be a corruption of Eleazar, leading to the theory that it was named after the high priest who was charge of the Ark while it was at Kiriath-jearim (1 Sam 7:1).

Today a double community of nuns and brothers continue the worship in the church and offer hospitality, reflecting the ancient story of the couple on the Jerusalem–Emmaus road.

Jews coming to a Muslim community to hear music in a Christian church...is a small, white pebble in the path that we want.

Jawdat Ibrahim, owner of Abu Ghosh hummus restaurant, organized the event, which brought together 50 Jewish and Israeli-Arab chefs.

[61] Since 1997, Jaaber Hussein, a Muslim Arab-Israeli hotel food manager from Abu Ghosh, has signed an agreement with Israel's Chief Rabbis to purchase all of the state's chametz, the leavened products not kosher for the Jewish holiday of Passover.

This contractually binding deal allows the state to respect religious edicts without wastefully destroying massive quantities of food.

In 2009, Hussein put down a cash deposit of $4,800 (about 20,000 shekels) for $150 million worth of chametz, acquired from state companies, the prison service and the national stock of emergency supplies.

At the end of Passover each year, the deposit is returned to Hussein and the State of Israel buys back all the food products.