Jerusalem Day (Hebrew: יום ירושלים, Yom Yerushaláyim) is an Israeli national holiday that commemorates the "reunification" of East Jerusalem (including the Old City) with West Jerusalem following the Six-Day War of 1967, which saw Israel occupy East Jerusalem and the West Bank, effectively annexing the former. It is celebrated annually on 28 Iyar on the Hebrew calendar, and is marked officially throughout Israel with state ceremonies and memorial services. In the Six Day War, the Jewish nation, with God's help, achieved a tremendous victory over its enemies. The war began on three fronts, and in the span of just six days, we utterly shattered our enemies' military strength and dealt them a total defeat. At the same time, we liberated all of the holy places in Judea and Samaria – most significantly Jerusalem and the Temple Mount – along with the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan. Anyone who viewed these events honestly, and had even the slightest spark of faith in his heart, saw clearly the words of our holy Torah, "For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to deliver your enemies before you"(Devarim 23:15). This great victory was truly a manifest miracle. In order to thank Hashem and publicize the miracle, the Chief Rabbinate, headed by Rabbi Isser Yehuda Unterman and Rabbi Yitzchak Nissim, established the twenty-eighth day of Iyar, the day on which Jerusalem and the Temple Mount were liberated, as a day of thanksgiving and joy for all of Israel. They also instituted the recitation of Hallel with a blessing after the morning services (Shacharit). Rabbi Shlomo Yosef Zevin and Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli also participated in and supported this decision A notable celebration that marks the holiday is a flag-flying parade known as the Dance of Flags. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel declared Jerusalem Day to be a minor religious holiday, as it marks the regaining for Jewish people of access to the Western Wall.
|