Jerusalem was Israel’s capital for about a thousand years before the Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple in the year 70. During the occupation of Rome and other empires, the city was never the capital of any other country, while Jews in the diaspora throughout the centuries prayed ”Next year in Jerusalem ” as they celebrated holidays such as Passover and Yom Kippur.
On May 12, 1968, the Israeli government decided to make the 28th of Iyar — which this year fell on May 15 — Jerusalem Day, a day symbolizing the modern and historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem.
Thirty years later, this holiday was anchored in the Knesset, which established the day on which Jerusalem was liberated during the Six-Day War as a national holiday.
Jerusalem was divided up in the War of Independence in 1948 when Jordan occupied parts of the city. The eastern section, which included the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, were closed to Jews during the following 19 years, anda round 40 synagogues and Jewish cemeteries were blown up or leveled to the ground, while others were desecrated and converted into stables or chicken coops.
Nineteen years later, the city was reunified following Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War in 1967. This year, 2026, marks 59 years since the reunification of Jerusalem, which meant that the entire city came under Jewish rule for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.
The Battle for Jerusalem began on the morning of June 5, 1967, when the Jordanians opened fire along the entire ceasefire line. On June 7, Israel’s general staff issued orders to liberate the ”Old City ” and also retake the Mount of Olives. That day the Israeli flag was raised over the Western Wall, the remaining part of the Second Temple still in existence today.
After the victory in the Six-Day War, the government presented three legislative proposals to the Knesset. These proposals established the actual reunification of Jerusalem. At the same time, a law was passed allowing free access to the holy sites for members of all religions. In 1980, the Jerusalem Law was adopted, establishing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and the seat of all state authorities.
Jerusalem was nothing special and entirely neglected until Jews once again began taking interest in the city. Ernst Gustav Schultz, a scholar and Prussian consul in Jerusalem, wrote in his Jerusalem Book, published in 1845, that the city then had 15,510 inhabitants (7,120 Jews, 5,000 Muslims, and 3,390 Christians). Today, Jerusalem’s population exceeds 800,000 people.
Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, has become a large and expansive city. It stands as an inspiration not only for Israel’s residents and the Jewish people, but for the entire world. Jerusalem attracts tourists from all over the globe who come to see its beauty, absorb its history, and make pilgrimages to the holy sites, which serve as places of prayer and meeting points for members of all three major religions.
