Mayor Nir Barkat of Jerusalem welcomed thousands of people to the Hakafot Sheniyot dancing with Torah scrolls in the capital on Monday night. He told those in attendance, "It's no secret that in the past year, Israel's enemies have tried to hurt us, bring down our spirits and scare us, and make us to doubt our future here in the city of Jerusalem.
The mayor added, "UNESCO also tried to erase the connection of the people of Israel with Jerusalem. To our great joy, together with the security forces, we faced and overcame and there is no greater revenge than to show the whole world and the Israel-haters that nothing will help them. We are here in the united capital of the Jewish people, and we will continue to build, to be built and celebrate in Jerusalem, all of Israel."