This year in Jerusalem, Jerusalem Reunification Day carries special meaning as the capital marks its 51st year after the Israeli Defense Forces restored its lost neighborhoods, occupied for 19 years by the Jordanian Army, in the 1967 Six Day War.
The Hebrew date for the holiday, 28 Iyar, this year fell on the Sabbath and so observance of this important Israeli national holiday was pushed off until Saturday night and Sunday.
Every year, for hundreds of years, Jewish people around the world have repeated: “Next year in Jerusalem…” On , we celebrate 51 years of the reunification of the city. 51 years that Jews, and all peoples, can visit and pray freely at Jerusalem’s holy sites. pic.twitter.com/I93ZbiaOVz
— (((WJC))) (@WorldJewishCong)
The holiday this year marks the start to a momentous, historic week. Jerusalem Day celebrations kick off a march to the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday.
Monday heralds history in the making with the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, on the secular date of Israel’s 70th anniversary, May 14. It is also the Day of Remembrance for the Ethiopian Jews and the 4,000 who died on their trek through Sudan while trying to reach Zion.
Tuesday, May 15th, is marked by Arabs in the Palestinian Authority, and some in Israel, as “Nakba Day” – “Nakba” meaning, in Arabic, “catastrophe” or “disaster” – their designation for the rebirth of the State of Israel.
Wednesday, May 16th, the nation of Guatemala officially opens its Embassy in Jerusalem as well. Welcome, Guatemala!!
By the end of this week, Muslims in Israel will also have begun to observe the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in which each day is marked with a fast, to be broken only after nightfall. The month ends with a three-day holiday, Eid al-Fitr.
All of it beginning with the reunification of the holy city of Jerusalem, in which the unique kaleidoscope of humanity swirls among the great mosaic that has become the State of Israel.
“May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I don't make Jerusalem my greatest joy” Psalms 137:6. This week we celebrate in all its glory – Jerusalem day , the opening of and the embassy of Guatemala ?? pic.twitter.com/BnBhMsUGkx
— Emmanuel Nahshon (@EmmanuelNahshon)