“Jerusalem is the heart and soul of the Jewish people and the capital of Israel for eternity.”

“Jerusalem is the heart and soul of the Jewish people and the capital of Israel for eternity.”

FACT IS: Ever since the Jews entered the land of Israel in about 1300 BCE and King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel more than 3,000 years ago; then King Solomon built the Jewish Temple, the city has played a central role in Jewish existence. The Western Wall in the Old City is the object of Jewish veneration and the focus of Jewish prayer. Three times a day and in daily blessings, for thousands of years, Jews have prayed “To Jerusalem, thy city, shall we return with joy,” and have repeated the Psalmist’s oath: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.” Jerusalem “has known only two periods of true greatness, and these have been separated by 2,000 years. Greatness has only happened under Jewish rule,” a famous writer wrote in Jerusalem. “This is so because the Jews have loved her the most, and have remained constant in that love and devotion throughout the centuries of their dispersion. It even goes back to the time of Abraham the father of Judaism when he made an offering to the almighty on mount Moriah which is known to day as Temple Mount. . . It is the longest, deepest spiritual love affair in history.” “It is for over three thousand years, Jerusalem has been the center of Jewish hope and longing. No other city has played such a dominant role in the history, culture, religion and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of Jewry and Judaism. Throughout centuries of exile, Jerusalem remained alive in the hearts of Jews everywhere as the focal point of Jewish history, the symbol of ancient glory, spiritual fulfillment and modern renewal. The Jews for over the past 2,000 years have prayed three times a day to return to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple. The Jewish people for over twenty centuries celebrated holidays and observed fast days in memory of Jerusalem, the hope and aspiration to return to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Jewish Temple. At Jewish wedding ceremonies a dish is broken in memory of Jerusalem. When performing a blessing after a meal, the prayer for Jerusalem return is recited. This heart and soul of the Jewish people engenders the thought that if you want one simple word to symbolize all of Jewish history, that word would be ‘Jerusalem.’ “The Jewish people without Jerusalem; is like a human body without a soul”. History and archaeological excavations support this Jewish attachment to Jerusalem and greater Israel.

YJ Draiman