Hamas War

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Jerusalem Day?

This year Jerusalem Day feels different, sort of empty. I think making it a holiday was a mistake. It was established after the great, miraculous victory of the Six Days War.

Why a mistake?

Because it established a ranking, a division of importance between the Old Walled City of Jerusalem and all of the other Holy Land we liberated as the result of that war, that war which the Arabs planned as a means to destroy us, throw us into the sea. That's a critical, tragic, potentially fatal mistake; and I wrote that in present tense for a reason.

Today we're suffering for that mistake. Only the liberation of the Kotel area is celebrated, not the liberation of Hebron, Shiloh, Bethlehem, the Jordan Valley and Shechem. All the government wanted, at most, was the Kotel and enough of the Old City to give Jews access. That's why they are so confident that there's nothing wrong in offering our enemies our Land. The Zionist establishment never really wanted it. When perfectly healthy quadruplets are born to parents who wanted "just one," do they give the "extra three" to an orphanage?

I'm willing to celebrate a SIX DAYS WAR VICTORY DAY, but not Jerusalem Day.

I'm willing to celebrate our survival. An old friend whose son was murdered in a terror attack considers her children and grandchildren, ken yirbu--may there be many more, her revenge. This picture says it:

thanks to a.b.e
And this picture shows something special I saw recently in Jerusalem's Bus station, a Holy vending machine selling religious books.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The vending machine is awesome!

I hear you about the J'day. Except for Jerusalemites, the rest of us are virtually ignoring it. Ok, we had an event and said some special prayers tonight, but tomorrow is a 'regular day', and the extra prayers in shahrit are probably a minor hassle for those of us who need to get to work. Yes, we should be celebrating the day Judea & Samaria were liberated.

Batya said...

re: the vending machine, that's the bonus of waiting arouond for buses. I'm your wandering photographer!

You're right. By concentrating on Jerusalem, the country/government/media totally ignore the fact that we were almost wiped off the map.

Hadassa DeYoung said...

Shalom, Batya!
You forgot Gaza. The Gaza Strip was liberated one day before Jerusalem Day. The Temple Mount was given to the Wakf soon after. It took the government another 38 years to hand Gaza to Hamas on a silver platter.
Friends of ours from Atzmona met in a Nahal Unit (She's obviously much more religious now than then.) that was part of the liberating IDF force in Gaza and later married. After liberating the city, the soldiers decided to take a walk to the beach. The Arabs treated them like royalty. Chairs were pulled out for them at cafes, and of course coffee was served on-the-house. No Arab even thought of harming a soldier then. When we act as if this is our country, the Arabs pay attention.
Hadassa

Batya said...

Hadassa, thanks, so true.

yitz said...

As a late-blooming [I came in 1989 after 8 years in the Galil] "Yerushalmi", I disagree...and agree. Of course recognition should be given to the return of the entire Yehuda, Shomron, and yes, Aza, into the hands of our People! But one must admit that there IS indeed something special about the return of not just the Kotel, but the entire Old City, and Har HaBayit, to Jewish hands! That cannot, and should not, be ingored or take second-fiddle to anything.
I believe Chevron [Hebron] does celebrate Chevron Day a day later, on 29 Iyar. I don't know why there shouldn't be a Yom Shiloh, or a Yom Yehuda, Yom Shomron, Yom Aza, etc. day too! Except that now, we'd need an entirely different gov't to get that going!

Anonymous said...

Maybe Israel is ignoring Jerusalem day, but the diaspora is not. Then, as now, Israel faced a grave and mortal danger, and it was entirely unclear whether it would be able to survive. The government was weak, the people unsettled ... and G-d created an open miracle, not only vanquishing our enemies, but redeeming part of the land.

In my opinion, it is a moral obligation of any G-d fearing Jew to acknowledge this miracle and attempt to understand its significance.

It is dangerous to rely on miracles.

Avi said...

It makes me sad to think of the tragic waste of potential and opportunity that Israel had after the 6 Day War. We are truly a stiff-necked people.

Batya said...

yitz, a, bk,
In the relgious sector Jerusalem Day is seen as a religious holiday. And it's celebrated.
If it would all be restructured into a Victory Day, it would be easier to involve all Israelis.