Jerusalem Day (Hebrew: יום ירושלים, Yom Yerushalayim) is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in June 1967. When Israel declared its independence in 1948, it was attacked en masse by its Arab neighbors. Jordan took over east Jerusalem and the Old City and the Jewish residents who had lived there all their lives were forced out. This Jordanian occupation continued for 19 years until 1967. In
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Jerusalem: 4000 Years History in 5 Minutes |
May 1967, tensions were again at an all time high between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Israel knew an attack was imminent and that they may lose unless they had the element of surprise. So on June 5th, 1967 Israel launched a preemptive strike thus beginning the Six-Day war. On June 7th, 1967 (28 Iyar 5727), Israeli paratroopers captured the Old City of Jerusalem. Later that day, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan declared what is often quoted on Yom Yerushalayim: This morning, the Israel Defense Forces liberated Jerusalem. We have united Jerusalem, the divided capital of Israel. We have returned to the holiest of our holy places, [the Western Wall] never to part from it again. To our Arab neighbors we extend, also at this hour … our hand in peace. And to our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the sake of other people’s holy places, and not to interfere with the adherents of other faiths, but in order to safeguard its entirety, and to live there together with others, in unity.”
On May 12, 1968, the Israeli government proclaimed a new holiday – Jerusalem Day – to be celebrated on the 28th of Iyar, the Hebrew date
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| Jerusalem of Gold | |
on which the divided city of Jerusalem became one. (In 1967 this date fell on June 7th.) On March 23, 1998, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem Day Law, making the day a national holiday. On the Hebrew calendar, the 28th day of Iyar is exactly six weeks after the Passover seder, and one week before the eve of Shavuot. In honor of the reunification of ancient Jerusalem, Naomi Shemer wrote the beautiful song, “Jerusalem of Gold“ to commemorate the event. It is sometimes called Israel’s “2nd national anthem”.
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The Battle for Jerusalem |
In Hebrew:
(Sha’alu shalom yirushalim)
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term מה שלומך (mah sh’lom-chah) literally means, ‘what is your peace’, but the ‘street meaning’ is “how are you?”. The root is in the word
