Har Nof nationhood was built on a hillside on the western boundary of Jerusalem.
With a population of 20,000 residents, the majority of the residents of Har Nof are orthodox jews, both Haredi and Dati Leumi. Many residents are recent olim who found in Har Nof a one centralized location for their community services.
The first homes in Har Nof were built in the early 1980s. Har Nof borders with Givat Shaul on its western side while its other parts reach the Jerusalem Forest.
Har Nof is a terraced neighborhood and therefore the height difference between streets is noticeable. Most on the buildings are tall but there are 3,500 residential units as well.
The neighborhood has a large community of English-speaking olim including French-speaking and Spanish-speaking communities. There are also communities of Ger and Vizhnitz Hasidim, as well many Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews. The former Sefardic chief rabbi and leader of the Shas party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef lived in Har Nof. Spiritual leaders of the Ashkenazi Haredi community who reside in Har Nof are Rabbi Moishe Sternbuch of the Edah Hachreidis, the Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Mayer Alter Hrowitz of Congregation Givat Pinchas (The Boston Shul): Rabbi Beryl Gershenfeld, Rosh Yeshiva of Har Nof's Machon Yaakov andMachon Shlomo yeshivas; and Rabbi Yitzchak Mordechai Rubin of Kehilat Bnei Torah.
Har Nof attracts orthodox Jews since its early days. Each community has its own synagogue and public institutions which were built especially for them. Har Nof has a large number of synagogues, yeshivas and Torah study institutions, among them the Central Synagogue Imrei Shefer, Heichal Hatorah, yeshiva Pachad Yitzhak, Machon Shlomo, Yeshiva Lev Aharon and Machon Yaakov. The campuses of Neve Yerushalayim and She'arim College of Jewish Studies for Women are located in Har Nof, as is Yechaveh Da'at, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's synagogue and spiritual headquarters.
The neighborhood is linked to the city center by Kanfei Nesharim and Beit Hadfus Streets, with a number of bus lines providing public transportation
