Sixth Begin Run
Sixth Begin RunBegin Heritage Center Spokespereson

Even as a stabbing attack took place at the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City, roughly 1,000 indomitable Israelis on Friday morning took part in the Sixth Begin Run, which is held annually by the Menachem Begin Heritage Center.

Men, women and children who arrived from around the country to take part ran through various historical points from the life of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin during his period as the head of the Irgun under the British Mandate.

Two tracks were open to participants, one five kilometers long (three miles) and the other ten kilometers (six miles).

Joining the run were members of Begin's family, Jerusalem Municipality Sport Department head Itzik Kornfein, and Jerusalem Councilman Arieh King.

The run began from the Heritage Center towards the King David Hotel, where Irgun Jewish resistance fighters bombed the British command center at the hotel.

The runners continued to the Malkha neighborhood that was conquered by Irgun fighters during the 1948 War of Independence, and the course ended at the First Station, the site of another daring Irgun attack against the British occupiers.

Begin Heritage Center head Herzl Makov said, "it's incredible to find that 24 years after Menachem Begin's passing he continues to be present in the political and public discourse in the state of Israel. His teachings continue to be relevant starting from his work to destroy the nuclear reactor in Iraq and up to his statement 'there are judges (same term as the Biblical Judges - ed.) in Jerusalem.'"

"This morning we see that his actions are relevant also for the thousands of runners who are running in the footsteps of stations in his life in the city of Jerusalem that he so loved," said Makov.