Israel's Jerusalem Day Celebrations to Continue Despite Coronavirus

JERUSALEM, Israel – Despite coronavirus restrictions, Israelis are getting ready to celebrate Jerusalem Day, which marks the day when Israel captured the Temple Mount and united Jerusalem in the aftermath of the Six-Day War.

Jerusalem Day – or “Yom Yerushalayim” as it’s called in Hebrew – begins on Thursday evening and will end Friday evening. Celebrations began Wednesday. 

Instead of the annual march through the streets of Jerusalem featuring thousands of people, a smaller march will take place. Additionally, 600 people will be allowed to form a human chain around the city, organizers said in a statement.

Police will also allow a line of cars will circle the Old City.

The annual gathering at the Western Wall will be permitted but limited to 450 people who registered in advance. Several hundred more will be allowed to stand with the Israeli flag at the Old City wall from Jaffa Gate to Damascus Gate.

Israel’s top musicians will also perform in Jerusalem’s Old City to mark the occasion. The performance will be broadcast on televisions across Israel.

While the international community does not recognize Israel’s capture of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War, Israeli Rabbi Yehudah Glick called it “Israel’s greatest victory.”

“Within six days we returned to the biblical land of Israel, all the mountains of Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights. We returned to the Old City of Jerusalem and the city is liberated and reunited,” Glick told CBN News.

“It’s the word of God coming out of the book, materializing and becoming a reality in our time in front of our eyes.”

Now that Jerusalem is in Israel’s hands, Glick believes the Jewish people have an obligation to dedicate it to God.

“It’s an obligation for us to turn it into what it’s supposed to be – the house of prayer for all nations. The world center of godly peace. The world’s center of God’s divine presence in this world. That’s our mission right now,” he said. 

To learn more about the Six-Day-War, watch CBN's docu-drama In Our Hands