JERUSALEM DAY MAY 26 06

May 25, 2006

Dear Friends,

May 26 -- the 28th day of the month of Iyar on the Jewish calendar -- is Jerusalem Day, commemorating the liberation of the Holy City in 1967.

That year, Israel had been subject to numerous threats and abuses from her neighbors. In May, Egypt blocked the straits of Tiran, stopping all shipping in and out of the Israeli port of Eilat.

The allied forces of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon stood at Israel’s borders. Arab leaders made it clear that they intended to destroy Israel: the Iraqi president publicly declared that “The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified,” while King Nasser of Egypt said bluntly, "We are ready for war!”

Israel faced a choice -- wait for an invasion, or fight back in self-defense. She chose to fight back. The resulting battle, the Six Day War, was a quick and stunning victory for Israel that led to the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule.

There are few events in modern Jewish history more stirring. On radio recordings from that day, you can hear Israel Defense Forces Colonel Motta Gur shouting with breathless excitement, “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” while soldiers weep with joy and a
shofar sounds in the background. The long-awaited moment had finally come -- the Jewish people had reclaimed their holy city.

Today Jerusalem remains in Jewish hands, but is still under threat -- and not just by terrorists, though the threat of terrorism is ever-present. Other nations, including the U.S., still do not recognize it as capital of Israel. There is a movement to make it an “international city,” while others say it should be divided equally between Israelis and Palestinians. These proposals would deny the biblical and historic claims of Israel to this city that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in a letter to participants in our first Day of Prayer, called “the eternal capital of the Jewish people … and the united and undivided capital of the State of Israel forever.

The psalmist said, “If I forget you O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.” As we do every year at this time, let us resolve never to forget this ancient, holy city, sacred to Jews and Christians alike -- the capital of Jewish life and culture for over 3,000 years.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
Founder and ChairmanInternational Fellowship of Christians and Jews

Today is Yom Yerusalayim,

Jerusalem Day Celebrating the liberation of the City of Jerusalem and its unification in 1967 as the capitol of Israel.The soldiers pictured above infront of the Western Wall of the Temple shed blood for that liberation..something I hope Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has occasion to remember before he gives any part of the City back to Israel's sworn enemies.

In The Book of Isaiah, the prophecy is made that the Beit Hamikdosh, the Holy Temple, will be rebuilt on the Temple Mount for the third time when G-d's Kingdom is established over the earth and that men will come from the four corners of the world to worship and to pray...that they shall `beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks' and that peace and brotherhood will reign over the world.

As the old Sabbath prayer says, may it come soon, and in our time.
posted by Freedom Fighter at 11:15 AM