A joyous celebration took place Sunday evening as Jerusalem Day got started at the Western Wall with gatherings, prayers and thanksgiving dances.
The events celebrating the 58th reunification of Israel’s capital and the liberation of Judea and Samaria included a festive prayer service and the unfurling of a giant Israeli flag at the center of the Western Wall Plaza.
Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz; Minister for Jerusalem and Jewish Tradition, Rabbi Meir Porush; Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon; Western Wall Heritage Foundation Director Mordechai (Suli) Eliav; and other public figures were present at the ceremony.
“Greetings from Israel’s eternal and undivided capital, the holy city of Jerusalem,” US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in a video message posted to the X social media platform. “Beginning this evening is Yom Yerushalayim, also known as Jerusalem Day. The United States is proud to join our close ally @Israel in celebrating the 58th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. @POTUS reaffirmed the historic connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem that goes back over 3,500 years when he had the moral clarity to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital and then move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.”
The unfurling of the giant flag this year was dedicated to the memory of Eyal Chaimovsky of blessed memory, director of the Jerusalem Development Authority, “who worked tirelessly to improve the Western Wall Plaza area for the benefit of worshippers and visitors,” the Western Wall Foundation said.
