By Stan Goodenough
Jun 02, 2008
Tens of thousands of visitors came up to Jerusalem Sunday and Monday to participate in celebrations marking 41 years since the capital was reunified and restored to Jewish sovereignty millennia after it was lost to them.
Parades, concerts, flag dances and fireworks shows are among the numerous events taking place around the city through this week as "Jerusalem 40" - the special year of commemorations since the age-old daily Amidah prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem to the Jews was finally answered - draws to a close.
The 40th Anniversary of Jerusalem's Reunification coincides with the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Jewish State, celebrations of which have been underway for weeks, bringing thousands of well-wishers to the land.
Sunday also saw massive rallies in celebration of the 60 years taking place in New York and Washington DC as Americans joined their hearts with Israelis for this special occasion.
The resurrection of the Jewish nation in their homeland, and their return to rule in Jerusalem, was all foretold in the Bible - in both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament.
Millions of Bible-believing Christians therefore rejoiced when Jerusalem was returned to Jewish rule, remembering the words of Jesus Christ - who about 30 years before the Romans destroyed the city and its Temple in AD70 said that one day, after being trodden underfoot by gentile powers for a long period of time, during which the Jewish people would suffer unending persecution, Jerusalem would finally be restored to its rightful owners.
When it happened, in 1967, this restoration was seen as a miracle in and of itself as in just six days Israel demolished Arab armies amassed to destroy the Jewish state.
Forty-one years later, as the song "Jerusalem of Gold" made famous after that victory echoes up from the Sultan's Pool down below the Old City walls, an unrelenting international effort continues to wrest the holiest parts of this sacred city away from the Jews once more.
Most sought after is Israel's holiest site, the Temple Mount, which is earmarked to become part of the Arab State of Palestine, when it is created.
An exclusive report at the top of the WorldNetDaily website Monday was headlined, "Temple Mount '100 percent Islamic' and quoted PLO chief and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas' chief of staff as warning that "any Israeli action that 'offends' the Mount will be answered by 1.5 billion Muslims."