Today is Jerusalem Day, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem, Israel's capital, and bringing it under full Jewish sovereignty for the first time in almost precisely 1,900 years.
The Jerusalem Municipality's website <"www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/f1_main.asp?lng=2"> states,
"For three millennia Jerusalem has been the heart of the Jewish people. Although throughout the years the city was under the rule of many nations, including the Assyrians, Persians and Romans, Jerusalem is the enduring center of Jewish belief and identity. It has only ever been a capital city under Jewish rule. More recently, the Ottoman Turks ruled Jerusalem until December 1917, when it came under the control of the British.
"On November 29, 1947, the United Nations decided that the Land of Israel would be divided into two separate countries - one Jewish and one Arab. Jerusalem would belong to neither, holding special standing under the auspices of the U.N. The British mandate ended on May 15, 1948, at which time 7 Arab states declared war on the newly created Jewish State. The cease-fire ending Israel's War of Independence left Jerusalem a divided city, with Jordan retaining control of the eastern portion encompassing the Old City and the Western Wall, and Israel retaining the western side. The resulting border was 7 kilometers long from north to south, dividing neighborhoods and even private property. A concrete wall was erected on the Israeli side against snipers.
"The Six Day War began on June 6, 1967. On June 8 - the 28th of the month of Iyar, according to the Hebrew calendar - Israeli forces broke through Lions' Gate to the Old City. On June 28, the Government of Israel proclaimed the Reunification of Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel."
The Chief Rabbinate recognized the 28th of Iyar as a religious holiday of thanksgiving. The holiday features festive thanksgiving meals, Torah lectures on the significance of the day, and Hallel and other special prayers recited in many synagogues.
A memorial ceremony for the 776 soldiers who fell during the Six Day War in 1967 was held this afternoon at the Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem. 182 soldiers were killed in the battle for Jerusalem.
Close to 500 people commemorated the special day at the Yeshivat Beit Orot <"www.beitorot.org"> neighborhood on the Mt. of Olives with singing, dancing and an elaborate thanksgiving dinner. Yeshiva founder Rabbi Benny Elon, who is now Israel's Tourism Minister, spoke about the significance of the day not only as Jerusalem Day, but also as the day on which Jewish sovereignty returned to Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Beit Orot, the first living Jewish presence in 2,000 years on Mt. of Olives, is at the forefront of practical efforts to secure historic Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel and the Jewish people.
Yeshiva students from all around the country converged on different Jerusalem yeshivot to celebrate the day. Students from Torah HaChaim in N'vei Dekalim, the Atzmonah pre-military academy, the Ramat Gan hesder yeshiva and elsewhere heard lectures and danced at Yeshivat HaKotel, for example, while students of Ohr Etzion, Shadmot Mechola, Nahariya and Har Bracha were hosted at Beit Orot. Junior high school and high school students from all over Israel also visited the capital in honor of the occasion.
Jerusalem Day is also connected with the Prophet Samuel and Rabbi Kook; click here for more.
The Jerusalem Municipality's website <"www.jerusalem.muni.il/jer_main/f1_main.asp?lng=2"> states,
"For three millennia Jerusalem has been the heart of the Jewish people. Although throughout the years the city was under the rule of many nations, including the Assyrians, Persians and Romans, Jerusalem is the enduring center of Jewish belief and identity. It has only ever been a capital city under Jewish rule. More recently, the Ottoman Turks ruled Jerusalem until December 1917, when it came under the control of the British.
"On November 29, 1947, the United Nations decided that the Land of Israel would be divided into two separate countries - one Jewish and one Arab. Jerusalem would belong to neither, holding special standing under the auspices of the U.N. The British mandate ended on May 15, 1948, at which time 7 Arab states declared war on the newly created Jewish State. The cease-fire ending Israel's War of Independence left Jerusalem a divided city, with Jordan retaining control of the eastern portion encompassing the Old City and the Western Wall, and Israel retaining the western side. The resulting border was 7 kilometers long from north to south, dividing neighborhoods and even private property. A concrete wall was erected on the Israeli side against snipers.
"The Six Day War began on June 6, 1967. On June 8 - the 28th of the month of Iyar, according to the Hebrew calendar - Israeli forces broke through Lions' Gate to the Old City. On June 28, the Government of Israel proclaimed the Reunification of Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel."
The Chief Rabbinate recognized the 28th of Iyar as a religious holiday of thanksgiving. The holiday features festive thanksgiving meals, Torah lectures on the significance of the day, and Hallel and other special prayers recited in many synagogues.
A memorial ceremony for the 776 soldiers who fell during the Six Day War in 1967 was held this afternoon at the Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem. 182 soldiers were killed in the battle for Jerusalem.
Close to 500 people commemorated the special day at the Yeshivat Beit Orot <"www.beitorot.org"> neighborhood on the Mt. of Olives with singing, dancing and an elaborate thanksgiving dinner. Yeshiva founder Rabbi Benny Elon, who is now Israel's Tourism Minister, spoke about the significance of the day not only as Jerusalem Day, but also as the day on which Jewish sovereignty returned to Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Beit Orot, the first living Jewish presence in 2,000 years on Mt. of Olives, is at the forefront of practical efforts to secure historic Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel and the Jewish people.
Yeshiva students from all around the country converged on different Jerusalem yeshivot to celebrate the day. Students from Torah HaChaim in N'vei Dekalim, the Atzmonah pre-military academy, the Ramat Gan hesder yeshiva and elsewhere heard lectures and danced at Yeshivat HaKotel, for example, while students of Ohr Etzion, Shadmot Mechola, Nahariya and Har Bracha were hosted at Beit Orot. Junior high school and high school students from all over Israel also visited the capital in honor of the occasion.
Jerusalem Day is also connected with the Prophet Samuel and Rabbi Kook; click here for more.