Israel Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Jerusalem's Unification

Jerusalem couldn't wait to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its unification. The week-long Jerusalem Day celebrations  started three days early on Sunday night with a fantastic light and sound show projected against the old city walls outside of the Jaffa Gate. 

The evening, which was attended by tens of thousands, including President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, told the story of the history of Jerusalem. Beginning with the binding of Isaac on Mount Moriah and continuing through Jacob's dream, the history of the city played out including King David, the Temple of Solomon, the Babylonian exile, the return to Zion and rebuilding of the Holy Temple, the Maccabees and the refurbished Temple of Herod and its destruction in the year 70 CE by the Romans.

The story resumed in the 16th century as entire Jewish communities began to resettle inside Jerusalem's walls, to the first Jewish settlements outside the walls, the division of the city during Israel's 1948 War of Independence, and climaxed with the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War.

The presentation included the voice of Mota Gur, who commanded the Israeli paratroopers who stormed the Temple Mount, taken directly from the two-way radio with which he was commanding his troops.

Jerusalem's old city was liberated on the 28th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar, (tomorrow), which was on June 7, 1967. Israel will be celebrating 50 years since the liberation of Jerusalem throughout the entire week.

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