In the 20th Century Judaism added 4 new holidays: Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), Yom HaZikaron (Israel's Memorial Day), Yom Ha-Atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day). The last one, Yom Yerushalayim celebrates the re-unification of Jerusalem. Yom Yerushalayim is celebrated on the 28th of the month of Iyar. The liberation of Jerusalem in 1967 marks the first time in thousands of years that the entire city of Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism, was under Jewish sovereignty. The destruction of Jerusalem was a watershed event in Jewish history that began thousands of years of mourning for Jerusalem, so, it follows, that the reunification of Jerusalem should be a joyous celebration that begins the process of reversing thousands of years of destruction and exile. Jerusalem is central to the Jewish tradition. Jews face in the direction of Jerusalem and all of the prayer services are filled with references to Jerusalem.
Now with that in mind, it is a wonder why Barack Hussein Obama, President of the United States, and supposed friend of Israel would try to force Israel to partition the city once more.
Recent days have seen conflicting reports on construction in Jerusalem. While Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu states that construction in Jerusalem will continue, reports indicate that in practice, Jews are barred from building in some parts of the capital city. Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service spoke to Jerusalem Construction and Building Planning Committee member Yair Gabbai to clarify the situation.When Jerusalem was cut in two, not one Jewish place of worship was allowed to stand erect under Jordanian rule. Even the Kotel was turned into a latrine for the amusement of the degenerate Arabs. And this was done even though the world assured Jews that their sacred places would be safe and Jews would have access to these places.
According to Gabbai, there is definitely a distinction being made between “west” Jerusalem, meaning the territory that has been under Israeli sovereignty since 1948, and “east” Jerusalem, the lands that were under Jordanian control from 1948 until 1967. Recently, officials have begun making a distinction between Jews and Arabs, allowing Arabs to build in neighborhoods where Jews are turned down for construction permits, he said.
"The most recent meetings have taken on a certain apartheid-like quality,” he said. “Construction permits in eastern Jerusalem are given exclusively to Arabs, while in the western half of the city there's no discrimination.”
United States President Barack Obama is behind the de facto construction freeze, Gabbai believes. “[Obama] is the source of the pressure on the prime minister and the government to freeze construction in eastern Jerusalem, even though it's not good for Jerusalem,” he said.
Finish reading here.
From Wikipedia:
The Hurva Synagogue, also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid ("Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Pious"), is a historic synagogue located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
The synagogue was founded in the early 1700s by followers of Judah he-Hasid, but it was destroyed a few years later in 1721. The plot lay in ruins for over 140 years and became known as the Ruin, or Hurva. In 1864, the Perushim rebuilt the synagogue, and although officially named the Beis Yaakov Synagogue, it retained its name as the Hurva. It became Jerusalem's main Ashkenazic synagogue, until it too was reduced to rubble by the Arab Legion during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
After the site came under Israeli control in 1967, a number of plans were submitted for the design of a new building. After years of deliberation and indecision, a commemorative arch was erected instead at the site in 1977, itself becoming a prominent landmark of the Jewish Quarter. The plan to rebuild the synagogue in its 19th century style received approval by the Israeli Government in 2000 and the newly rebuilt synagogue was dedicated on March 15, 2010. The company involved with its reconstruction believes that restoring the synagogue to its former glory will once again allow it to serve as a center for World Jewry.
Hurva Synagogue restored - 2010
I wonder if this will be the last year Yom Yerushalayim will be celebrated in a unified city. Under Obama's
43 years have passed since Jerusalem, City of David, City of Gold, was divided. Will it remain whole in the next 43 years, or will it be divided forever?
Let us pray that the answer is NO!
One city forever united!
