Yom Yerushalayim

Jerusalem Day

On this day (on the Hebrew calendar), 57 years ago, Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan during the 6-Day War. 

Before the war, the country was in a serious state of distress. The government, expecting huge numbers of casualties, dug thousands of graves, Nassar (President of Egypt) repeatedly claimed (publically in Arabic and Hebrew) that the Arab armies would slaughter the Jews and push them into the sea. The national joke was that the last person out (of Ben Gurion Airport) should turn off the lights.

Then Yom Kippur. Wars in Lebanon. Intifadas. Now we are “bogged down” in Gaza in the south, we have a war of attrition with Hezbollah in the north and we aren’t even talking about Iran. What can we do? Where can we go? Israel is alone and ostracized. We are in the middle of a disaster. The talking-heads keep on talking and the pundits keep on pontificating, going over the same points for the last 8 months. 

A few years ago I severely curtailed my news consumption. One day I was listening and realized that the topics had not changed over the last 20+ years and while the reporters, presenters and politicians had changed, nothing of content had. In reality though, the country had moved forward by leaps and bounds, yet the news was the same. I pretty much tuned out at that point. Whoever created the 24 hour news cycle (Ted Turner, I believe) should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity.

Of course, with the current war I have found myself right back in it. I thought I would hear something different but I have not, not really. 

That said, I would like to send out a couple of thank you’s. First, to Danny Tamari, my adopted father from Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu. He passed away recently. For the last few years I have been sending him thank you’s on Jerusalem Day. The first time was maybe 10 years ago, my older kids were participating in the Jerusalem Day parade and I realized that the only reason they could go into Jerusalem, the only reason I was able to walk up to the ancient walls of our Temple and walk the alleyways of the Old City, was because of Danny and people like him. Danny was in the Paratroopers in the 6 Day War, and went from the Sinai to Jerusalem to take the city and drive the Jordanians back across the Jordan river. 

Danny was an incredibly special person, what one would call in mishnaic terms, a student of Avraham, said little but did much. He managed the Kibbutz, was General Secretary of the Religious Kibbutz movement, was active with the JNF in Israel, ran the regional council, was a warrior, a father and friend. He was a mensch who got things done and was always humble. He represented the best of Israel and, in fact, people like him laid the bedrock upon which Israel stands.

Second, thank you to those that stood up on October 7th and since. I am not sure what people outside of Israel know but there were thousands of people who simply left what they were doing and drove south. They had little to no idea of what was going on but knew people needed help. In many cases, they did not know anyone specific, but went anyway. Many were killed. Hundreds, if not thousands were saved by them. The stories are truly amazing. Some of the stories have already been put into a book entitled: One Day in October. Of course, these heroics and sacrifices have continued every day since then with our soldiers and the hundreds of thousands who are out there supporting them in innumerable ways.

In the same way that Danny and those like him helped make Israel what it is today, the quiet doers, “students of Avraham,” are going to move us into a more beautiful future. There is a wonderful generation of young people; scholars, warriors and poets, who will keep Israel moving forward by leaps and bounds. 

Meir

Image by Shlomaster from Pixabay