Tears streamed down our faces: Remembering Jerusalem Day, 1967

On June 7, 1967, the Jewish people knew that they had witnessed a miracle. On that day, the ancient walled city of Jerusalem, with its holy sites, was recaptured for the Jewish people, for the first time in 2000 years.

The years have flown, but my memories of the original Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) still continue to shape my life.

Despite conquests by multiple colonial empires over 3000 years and the dispersion of the Jewish people to the far corners of the world, Jerusalem has always remained the beating heart of the Jewish people. Jews have always lived in Jerusalem. We Jews face Jerusalem to pray; our daily prayers revolve around Jerusalem; and, every year,  we end our Passover seders with the words, “Next Year in Jerusalem.”

In 1947, the nations of the world voted at the United Nations to recreate a Jewish homeland in much of the land that the Jewish people had last ruled 2000 years ago.

The State of Israel declared its independence in May 1948, only to be immediately attacked by five of its neighbors: Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, who were determined to wipe it off the face of the earth.

In the subsequent war, the State of Israel was unable to hold onto the ancient walled city of Jerusalem. Its Jewish residents were forced to evacuate and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan annexed East Jerusalem without a word of protest from the nations of the world.

Nineteen years later, on June 7, 1967, Israel once again fought for its survival against the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. This was the third day of what would ultimately be known as the Six-Day War.

My husband, Lionel, was a graduate student and I was working as a research scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot. We lived in the graduate student residence on campus.

Most of my department’s scientists, students and staff had been called up to fight in the war, leaving their ongoing research without anyone on site to manage the experiments and care for the animals. I was available and spent much of my time ensuring the war did not disrupt the work.

That morning, one of our department’s students, an officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was flown in by helicopter from the Eastern front of the war for a crucial meeting at the main military headquarters in Tel Aviv. On his way to Tel Aviv, he stopped by the Institute to check on his scientific experiments.

Those of us still in the department gathered to hear his story. He told us that the Israeli forces were fighting the Jordanians on the mountain ridges north of Jerusalem and that they would be in Jerusalem by early evening. “Turn on your radios for the evening news,” he said.

In the midst of a blackout, in our candle-lit apartment, with blinds fully drawn, Lionel and I sat by our radio that evening, waiting for the news. “This is Kol Yisrael” (Voice of Israel),” we heard the radio announcer say.

Then we heard the sounds of the shofar being blown at the Western Wall and the voice of General Shlomo Goren, IDF chaplain, blessing the occasion with the following words:

“I am speaking to you from the plaza of the Western Wall, the remnant of our Holy Temple. ‘Comfort my people, comfort them, says the Lord your God.’ This is the day we have hoped for; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation. The vision of all generations is being realized before our eyes: The city of God, the site of the Temple, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall — the symbol of the nation’s redemption — have been redeemed today by you, heroes of the Israel Defense Forces. By doing so, you have fulfilled the oath of generations, ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning.’ Indeed, we have not forgotten you, Jerusalem, our holy city, our glory. In the name of the entire Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora, I hereby recite with supreme joy, Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us in life, who has preserved us and enabled us to reach this day. This year in Jerusalem – rebuilt!”

A group of soldiers surrounds then-IDF chief rabbi Shlomo Goren as he blows a shofar at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on June 7, 1967. (Bamahane Magazine/Defense Ministry’s IDF Archive)

Commander Motta Gur addressed the members of his brigade upon their recapture of Jerusalem’s Old City and holy sites:

“For some 2000 years,” he said, “the Temple Mount was forbidden to the Jews. Until you came — you, the paratroopers — and returned it to the bosom of the nation. The Western Wall, for which every heart beats, is ours once again. Many Jews have taken their lives into their hands throughout our long history, in order to reach Jerusalem and live here. Endless words of longing have expressed the deep yearning for Jerusalem that beats within the Jewish heart. You have been given the great privilege of completing the circle and returning to the nation’s capital and holy center… Jerusalem is yours forever.”

Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, upon reaching the Western Wall, declared: “We have returned to all that is holy in our land. We have returned, never to be parted from it again.”

General Uzi Narkiss, head of Central Command during the Six-Day War, described what he experienced: “The Wall was before us. I trembled. There it was as I had known it — immense, mighty, in all its splendor … overcome, I bowed my head in silence.”

Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin also described his personal reaction:

“I felt truly shaken and stood there murmuring a prayer for peace. Motta Gur’s paratroopers were struggling to reach the Wall and touch it. We stood among a tangle of rugged, battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.”

And then the soldiers burst into song, singing Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold), a new song written by Israeli songstress Nomi Shemer.

Lionel and I had tears streaming down our faces. This was a moment we would never forget. This was a time to rejoice.

Three weeks later, on a special trip organized by the Weizmann Institute, Lionel and I traced the footsteps of the Israeli paratroopers. We entered the ancient walled city of Jerusalem through the Lions Gate, walked across the Temple Mount, past the Dome of the Rock, descended a staircase and stood before the Western Wall. With a prayer and full hearts, we reverently touched the stones, knowing that we had experienced a life-changing moment in time.

Yerushalayim shelanu! (Jerusalem is ours). Jerusalem was finally in the hands of the Jewish people, who have cherished it for thousands of years.

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Patricia is a member of the Hadassah Writers’ Circle, a dynamic and diverse writing group for leaders and members to express their thoughts and feelings about all the things Hadassah does to make the world a better place. It’s where they celebrate their personal Hadassah journeys and share their Jewish values, family traditions and interpretations of Jewish texts. Since 2019, the Hadassah Writers’ Circle has published nearly 500 columns in The Times of Israel Blogs and other Jewish media outlets. Interested? Please contact hwc@hadassah.org.