On this day, the 28th of the Hebrew month of Iyar (May 26 in 2025), the Jewish people celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem, which took place on June 7, 1967.

The holiday commemorates the transfer of control of eastern Jerusalem to Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967. During the Battle of the Old City, Jews regained control of the holy sites of the Temple Mount for the first time in 2,000 years. The day symbolizes the historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem. It is celebrated with ceremonies at the Western Wall.

On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was declared. Jerusalem was its capital. However, for the first 19 years of Israel's independence, Jerusalem was divided, and its eastern part, where the main Jewish shrine is located, was under Jordanian control. In the armistice agreement, Jordan agreed to allow Jews to visit its sector and pray at the Western Wall of the Jerusalem Temple (the Western Wall). But this agreement was not respected. During these years, Jews did not have access to East Jerusalem, the Old City. Jewish residents of the Israeli part of Jerusalem were constantly exposed to the danger of shelling from the Arab side.

In 1967, tensions between Israel and its neighbors escalated into the Six-Day War. The armed conflict began in Jerusalem when the Jordanian army opened fire along the entire border with Israel, which ran through the very center of the city. After two days of fierce fighting, the Israel Defense Forces captured all Jordanian positions in the city and surrounding areas. One hundred and eighty-three soldiers died in the battle for Jerusalem; many more were wounded.

Immediately after the capture of the East Jerusalem sector, steps were taken to unite the two parts of the city. Military fortifications were dismantled. The ruins of houses standing in no man's land, abandoned during the 1948 War of Independence, were demolished. The walls and fences that divided the city were destroyed. Roads that had been blocked and destroyed during the War of Independence were restored. The city's borders were significantly expanded, which accelerated its development. Jerusalem ceased to be a border city, life in it became much safer.

On March 23, 1998, the Knesset declared Jerusalem Day a national holiday. On this day, the “Jerusalem March” takes place through the central streets of the capital with the national flags of Israel, after which a festive rally is held near the Western Wall; festive prayers are read in synagogues, including “Galel” and joyful psalms, etc.

Today, Jerusalem is the rapidly developing capital of Israel. It is home to the Knesset, the official residence of the president, government ministries, and the Chief Rabbinate. There is an agreement among all political forces in Israel that neither the unity nor the sovereignty of Jerusalem can be negotiated.

For the Jewish world, Jerusalem Day is both a symbol of historical justice and a sign of the reality of peaceful dialogue with other peoples and faiths.

Daria Yesina