One of the causes of the current tension between the Obama administration and the Israel government was the announcement made during the visit in Israel of US Vice-President Joe Biden that 1,600 housing units had been approved by the authorities for construction in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Ramat Shlomo is a religious community which was formerly called Rechess Shuafat because of its proximity to the Arab enclave of Shuafat. When it was settled by religious Jews close to two decades ago it was officially renamed Ramat Shlomo in honor of the Jerusalem Torah giant Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, zatzal.
