I have set watchmen!
This is the original radio transmitted message by the Israeli Defense Forces as they entered the Old City of Jerusalem through Lion's Gate, to the Temple Mount and finally the Wailing Wall during the Six Day War in 1967. After severe battles with numerous casualties and fallen comrades, Israeli forces conquered the Jordanian West Bank and the City of Jerusalem, ending Gentile dominance over Israel and Jerusalem after nearly 2,000 years. To hear the message is very moving as the voices of men are choked up overwhelmed with emotion until they eventually shout with victorious exuberance and the shofar is blown at the ancient wall. I finally managed to obtain a translation from Hebrew into English. Let your imagination take you to that time when Israeli soldiers entered the sealed walls of Jerusalem for the first time in modern history!
"The Temple Mount is in our hands!
"The Temple Mount is in our hands!
"All forces stop firing!
"The time is 10:20, the 7th of June.
"At this moment we are passing through Lion's Gate.
"I am at present under the shadow of the gate.
"And again we are going out to the sunny street.
"Lion's Gate!
"We are in the Old City!
"We are in the Old City!
"The soldiers are standing very close to the walls.
"We are marching now on the Via Delarosa.
"Do you understand this?!
"…the Old City!
"We are again in the Old City!
"Al Aksa Mosque.
"Under the ruling of the mandate we could not enter here.
"One moment!
"Straight ahead is the Wailing Wall!
"HURRAH! HURRAH! HURRAH! HURRAH!
"It is hard to express in words our feelings!"
(…the shofar is heard.)
Cause for Celebration!
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
For Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet
Til her righteousness shines out like the dawn,
Her salvation as a blazing torch!
(Isaiah 62 vs. 1)
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| From Yom Yerushaliim 2009 |
The Watchmen, our next generation, lift up the banner of freedom and dance through the streets of Jerusalem. They are bussed in from all over the country for the celebration of independence. After hours of rejoicing, they march to the Kotel, the Wailing Wall, at sundown and continue their celebration up into the wee hours of the morning.
Yet security does not allow the Israeli flag to be unfurled when entering the Jaffa Gate since it offends the Arabs. So, the male youth wraps the flag around their shoulders as a tallit, while the females wrap it around as a skirt, or tie it on the head as a covering, or around the shoulders as a sign of modesty. When they reach the Jewish Quarter, hundreds, if not thousands of flags are unfurled.
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| From Yom Yerushaliim 2009 |
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