Jerusalem. And today we are
celebrating Yom Yerushalayim -- Jerusalem Day -- the anniversary of the
liberation by Israeli troops of eastern (historic Jewish) Jerusalem, in
1967.
Credit:
JerusalemShots
May we never forget the blessing
that has been restored to us. This is a time for prayers of gratitude for
the gift of this city, which truly is the soul of the Jewish
people.
The Jerusalem Day parade leads
people through the streets of the city and into the Old City for dancing with
flags at the Kotel:
Credit:
IsraelHayom
~~~~~~~~~~
In celebration of the unification
of Jerusalem:
~~~~~~~~~~
On the 28th of Iyar, the third day
of the Six Day War, when Lt. Gen. Motta Gur. IDF Chief of Staff -- and the
paratroopers he led in the capture of the Old City -- reached the Temple
Mount, he sent out a message:
"Har
Habayit b’yadenu! Ani chozer: Har Habayit b’yadenu!
"The Temple Mount is in our hands!
I repeat, the Temple Mount is in our hands!"
Credit:
Flickr
You can hear an historic recording
of this event, which includes prayers by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, IDF Chief
Rabbi -- including prayers for those soldiers who fell in taking the city
and a Shehechayanu, prayer of thanksgiving for reaching that day -- and shofar
blasts.
Credit:
UnitedwithIsrael
A translated transcript is
provided:
~~~~~~~~~~
Today my prayer is that every Jew should take to
heart the meaning of "Har Habayit b'yadenu! "
~~~~~~~~~~
In the 3,000 years since King
David first made Jerusalem his capital, the only time it was divided
was during the 19 years that Jordan controlled eastern Jerusalem following
the War of Independence.
When Israel liberated that
part of the city, Jerusalem was reunited -- never, ever to be divided
again.
The myth is that "east" Jerusalem
is "Arab." But this only appeared to be the case because Jordan
rendered it Judenrein -- not only banishing all Jews, but destroying
synagogues and desecrating cemeteries. The reality is that the very
heart of ancient Jewish heritage is in the eastern part of the
city.
~~~~~~~~~~
Today, almost half of the
population of eastern Jerusalem -- more than 225,00 people -- is Jewish.
Any notion of being able to divide the city -- with western Jerusalem
for the Jews, and eastern Jerusalem for the Arabs, is pure
nonsense.
In fact, the notion that the
Palestinian Arabs have a legitimate claim to any part of Jerusalem is equally
nonsense. And let it be clearly understood: They say they want the
eastern part of the city for their capital. But a serious analysis of
statements made by the Palestinian Authority makes it clear that they intend to
have all of the city.
We made a grievous error, in
turning over the daily administration of the Temple Mount to the Muslim Wakf
after we had liberated it. Let there be no more mistakes.
To surrender the very heart of
Jewish heritage would be to seriously weaken our national resolve, and
to rob us of our deepest purpose. And don't imagine the Arabs are not aware
of this.
Under no circumstances may
Jerusalem be divided.
~~~~~~~~~~
Any so-called Jewish leader or
thinker or writer, whether here in Israel or outside, who proposes such a
division -- imagining it to be somehow necessary either in the interests of
"peace" or to satisfy international demands -- does a serious disservice to Am
Yisrael and the State of Israel. Such a move would serve only to weaken
the Jewish people and to subvert the cause of true peace.
~~~~~~~~~~
Almost immediately after the city was reunited, a law
was passed for the protection of holy places; it
reads:
"The Holy Places
shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything
likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different
religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings with regard to those
places..."
It must be noted that
only under Israeli sovereignty will Christian holy places in Jerusalem be
guarded.
In July 1980, the Knesset passed the
Jerusalem Law, declaring, "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of
Israel."
Eastern Jerusalem is indivisibly
part of the capital.
~~~~~~~~~~
If you have never visited Jerusalem, I
urge you to do so. There is no way to truly value her in your heart
without knowing her. When you come, be sure to take a tour of the ancient Jewish
sites in eastern Jerusalem.
Of course, the Kotel, and the tunnel
adjacent, and the nearby archeological gardens. And go up on the Mount -- an
important thing to do -- with a guide.
Not to be missed, as well, is Ir
David -- the City of David, outside the city walls. This is the original ancient
city, and archeologists regularly uncover new evidence of life
there:
But it doesn't end with
these sites. A guide can show you old Jewish neighborhoods, and much
more.
See www.keepjerusalem.org
.
~~~~~~~~~~
Im eshkachech:
If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my
right hand lose its cunning; let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I
do not set Jerusalem above my greatest joy.
From Psalm
137
~~~~~~~~~~
Ya'akov Shwekey singing Im
Eshkachech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBJnOO7Eck
~~~~~~~~~~
Celebrations were held last night at
the Mercaz Harav Kook Yeshiva in Jerusalem. One of those who spoke was
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who said:
"We build Jerusalem physically and
spiritually. It is the duty of our
generation to protect Jerusalem, keep it, develop it and build it. One
does not divide one’s soul." (Emphasis added)
~~~~~~~~~~
Trade Minister Naftali Bennett
(Habayit Hayehudi) also spoke, and he said (emphasis
added):
"In recent days we hear about
initiatives from the Saudis and from America. Some say openly that they are in
favor of splitting Jerusalem. I have an argument with them, and I will never give in when it comes to this
argument! But there are also these 'invisible divisors' - those who say they are
against the division of Jerusalem, but they are in favor of a Palestinian state.
These 'invisible divisors' are against the splitting of Jerusalem, but
they freeze construction in our capital city."These invisible divisors do not tell us that they will cause us to give up the Temple Mount and the Old City – which are the heart of the Jewish people – and a heart is indivisible. And I ask all these invisible divisors: Excuse me, but where exactly will be the capital of the Palestinian state be? In Jericho? In Bethlehem? In Berlin?
"Already when President Obama visited here I said that a nation cannot be an occupier in its own country, and I say now that a nation cannot be an occupier in its own capital. We are not occupying Jerusalem. Jerusalem is ours! Jerusalem belongs to my grandfather’s grandfather and to my grandson's grandson. Neither I nor anyone else has the right to split it."
~~~~~~~~~~
How I wish that on this day,
there would be nothing to fill this post but rejoicing about Jerusalem.
But wishing does not make it so.
I mention here matters
of concern, to which I will return for further discussion.
The very first was alluded to by Bennett, above, when he spoke
about "'invisible divisors' [who] freeze
construction in our capital city."
It has come from a multiplicity of
sources that our prime minister is instituting some sort of building freeze past
the Green Line. None of this is confirmed in its details, but the fact that
something is going on seems very likely -- and is deeply
disconcerting, indeed, infuriating, if so.
Part of the problem in verifying this
information is that we're being told that Netanyahu is giving
instructions not to put out tenders for construction (invitations for
contractors to bid on jobs). This means that construction already begun will
continue: there will not be a freeze on this. Not putting out tenders
would mean that in the future there would not be any new construction
contracted.
Today Army Radio reported that
Netanyahu had instructed House Minister Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi) regarding
the tenders for construction projects in certain Judea and Samaria
communities. When asked about this, Ariel is reported to have responded
that he does not talk about private discussions between himself and the prime
minister. This is hardly a denial. I consider Ariel one of the good guys,
and I ask, what is going on?
~~~~~~~~~~
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon
was subsequently quoted by Army Radio as saying that he was unaware of any
silent freeze on housing:
"The Prime Minister
clearly said that he is willing to negotiate, but without preconditions, and a
silent freeze is a precondition."
Yea, yea. But what the prime minister
says and what he does are not always the same thing, are
they?
Then PLO chief negotiator Saeb
Erekat told Maan, the Palestinian Arab news agency, that the PLO had not been
informed of any change in "Israel’s colonial
plans."
But Justice Minister Livni is
scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Kerry in Rome
today.
~~~~~~~~~~
The situation to our north is
also deeply worrisome:
Three shells from Syria have hit in
the Golan in the course of 24 hours. It is believed that these were strays
from the on-going civil war and were not deliberately aimed at Israel. But
Minister of Defense Ya'alon has made it clear, once again, that the IDF has a
policy of immediately responding to such shelling whenever the source can be
identified.
Israel, he said, is not "interfering
in the Syrian civil war, but we've warned what our interests are, and we have
called it 'red lines,' whether it's transferring quality weapons to a terrorist
organization or violating our sovereignty along the
border.
"...We will act to protect the
security of Israel," he warned, and any Syrian cross-fire will be
answered. Forces in the north are under orders to return fire without
seeking approval. "Should they identify the source of fire, they will
destroy it."
~~~~~~~~~~
More significant are reports of
Assad's possible intentions towards Israel right now.
He continues to make noise about
the attacks on Iranian weaponry, without taking direct action -- that is not the
problem. Rather, Assad is considering permitting Palestinian Arabs in
Syria to attack in the Golan. Khalid Abd al-Majid, secretary-general of
the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, has said that his faction will be
meeting with Syrian authorities about this.
This might set a precedent for
allowing other radical groups -- stronger or better armed than the Palestinian
Front -- to enter the Israeli Golan. Assad has scrupulously guarded
against this possibility until now. But should his policy change, the IDF would
be immediately and necessarily more involved.
~~~~~~~~~~
Peacekeepers from a Philippine
battalion of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, were seized near al Jamlah,
by Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade, part of the Free Syrian Army -- clearly not
from the Army's secular arm.
~~~~~~~~~~
The US and Russia are now said to be
advancing an international conference to address the situation in Syria.
I'm sure the speeches at a conference will have a huge
effect.
~~~~~~~~~~
It is good that Prime Minister
Netanyahu went to China, primarily, as I read it, to forge an enhanced trade
relationship. But...
While he was there, so was the PA's
Abbas. And the Chinese greeted him with a "four point peace plan" based on
the '67 lines, and the capital in eastern Jerusalem. So what else is
new?
~~~~~~~~~~
A Turkish negotiating contingent was
just here to finalize arrangements for compensation that Israel will provide
with regard to the Mavi Marmari incident. Reports are that it went well
and that -- surprise! -- after this is achieved there may be an exchange of
ambassadors.
The diplomatic/security situation
requires a closer relationship between Israel and Turkey. But it remains pro
forma for Turkish diplomats to attack Israel. Erdogan -- participating in
a very large club --just issued criticism of Israel's alleged attack on Iranian
weapons in Syria. Such hypocrisy, when Iranian weapons in Syria make him
very uncomfortable.
~~~~~~~~~~
Steven Hawking, world renown British
theoretical physicists, has just demonstrated just how stupid someone exceeding
brilliant can be: According to the Guardian today, he has decided
not to attend a conference to be hosted by President Shimon Peres here in
Jerusalem, as a protest of the way Israel treats the Palestinians. He was
to headline the conference, scheduled for next month, but pulled out on the
unanimous advice of his British academic associates.
I would venture to say he knows next
to nothing about the political/security realities here, and I point my
finger at the British academic community, whose position comes as no
surprise. The Guardian says Hawkings has been bombarded with an
intense campaign by backers of the boycott against Israel. Regrettably, he
serves as their unwitting tool.
~~~~~~~~~~
©
Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by Arlene Kushner,
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