Jerusalem Day – a celebration of the city’s reunification
Today is Jerusalem Day – a holiday that was established in Israel in 1967 to commemorate the victory in the Six-Day War and the reunification of Jerusalem. It is one of the main holidays of our country, a symbol of our statehood.
In 1947, even before the establishment of Israel, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, which provided for the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, and designated a special international status for Jerusalem.
However, the Arab states rejected this plan. The day after the proclamation of the State of Israel, the armies of six countries invaded the territory of the young state. This marked the second stage of the War of Independence. After its conclusion, Israel gained control over the western part of Jerusalem, and Jordan over the eastern part, including the Old City, from which Jewish residents were expelled from their homes, and synagogues and Jewish cemeteries were destroyed.
The Western Wall, the most important holy site of Judaism, was inaccessible to Jews for the next 19 years.
During the Six-Day War in 1967, the Israel Defense Forces liberated the eastern part of Jerusalem and reunited the city. Once again, Jews were able to freely walk through the Old City, bowing their heads at the Western Wall.
The words transmitted by radio from the commander of the paratrooper brigade Mordechai Gur, “The Temple Mount is in our hands! I repeat — the Temple Mount is in our hands!” have forever entered history.
