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Distinguished Guests,
In the 58 years of the State of Israel’s existence, there has been one moment which transcends all others. Anyone who was there at the time will never forget it. There has never been such a moment in Jewish history and the world, and I believe there never will be again.
It was that same, once-in-a-lifetime moment when the cry was heard: “The Temple Mount is in our hands”. This voice rose from the depths, from the deepest levels of memory and suffering, from the tears and prayers of an ancient people finally returned home. There is no other, never has been and never will be another home.
“We returned to our holiest places so that we will never have to separate from them,” announced Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan, and spoke with the longing of an entire people.
The battle for Ammunition Hill took place on the first night of the war. At midnight, the commander of the Paratrooper Brigade, Mordechai Gur, assembled his sub-commanders at the command post on Tzfania Street for a fateful consultation. Motta said “The General Staff is proposing to postpone the attack on the target until morning, in order to provide us with air support. What do you think?” At this point, the commanders unanimously responded: “We will not wait. We will charge and conquer it tonight!”
This is the spirit of the Paratroopers. This is how the commander and shaper of the image of the Paratrooper Brigade, Arik Sharon, taught them: not to hesitate, to forge ahead, charge and defeat the enemy standing at the gate. The fire of Jerusalem burned in them, and nothing could have stopped them.
Between the early hours of the morning and the morning watch, Ammunition Hill was transformed from an anonymous, unknown post into a shining chapter of heroism in the history of Israel and the story of Jerusalem, and those who fought found glory.
This place, which was sanctified by the souls of our heroic and brave sons, is now a national park commemorating them. On the bare land of this hill, etched with ditches and bunkers, Jerusalem pines were planted, and their roots drank the blood which was soaked in the soil. Here, they tower above us, and we find shelter in their shade. Around us, on what was then a no-man’s-land, the battlefield is surrounded by new, vital neighborhoods: Ramat Eshkol, French Hill, Ma’a lot Dafna. The neighborhood children play on Ammunition Hill. On this day, the day of the city’s redemption, we remember the fighters who liberated Jerusalem, we thank and cherish them. It is thanks to them that we are here.
We picture their images, and in our hearts, we swear the everlasting, ancient oath to our eternal capital: “If I forget thee.”
The poet Uri Zvi Greenberg wrote:
“Woman, here is your son!
On his back Jerusalem stands:
Jerusalem of blood, of abyss, of fragments, of majesty…
On his small back, human back, stands Jerusalem, large and heavy and on fire…
A voice cries out to him: get on!
Woman, here is your son!
He is drawing far away from you, and illuminating.
Escort him with the blessing of the traveler…”
We are proud of the heroism of our fighters, and grieve the loss of those who fell in the battle for Jerusalem – the “Harel” fighters, the Paratroopers and the Jerusalem Brigade, the fighters in the War of Independence and in all of Israel’s campaigns. Our hearts go out to the bereaved families, who carry with them their profound grief with nobility of spirit and quiet sorrow. We are their brothers, and we clasp their hands in fellowship and as partners to their fate. The covenant of Jerusalem has been forged between us, unifying, binding, and will never be broken.
There has been none but Jerusalem to the people of Israel for generations, an axis of our history, identity, faith and legacy. Three times a day, for over 3,000 years, every believing Jew stands in prayer, and faces Jerusalem. The song of endless yearning and longing was written about it in every exile, and a sea of tears was spilled over it. Therefore, it will eternally be ours, our one and only. We will continue to cherish and respect its residents and visitors of all faiths. We will protect their holy places, and will not deprive them of their full rights to freedom of religion. In all its history, Jerusalem has never been as large, open, lively and diverse as it is now. Never has freedom of religious practice for the believers of every religion been as ensured as it is now.
On a personal note, I would like to add: I served as mayor of Jerusalem for a decade, and every year I came here, with many of you, to this exalted hill, and every time I was profoundly moved in this special place. In this clear air, in the quiet which overcomes the laments of grief of so many, we feel the endless longing, the tears which were an inseparable part of the lives of generations of Jews whose only hope and prayer was to return to this place.
It is because of this that we are privileged – let us be worthy of it. We will be aware of the greatness of this day, we will feel the fatefulness of the moment, and we will protect this place with vigilance. There will never be a time when a Jew will want to experience Jerusalem and will be unable to do so. Jerusalem – Jewish at its birth, Jewish also during all the days we were exiled from it, and today more than ever – Jewish, whole and united.
We will seek and request the peace of Jerusalem, because from here in ancient times arose the vision of peace espoused by the prophets of Israel to the peoples of the world, and from here – we aspire –the hope of peace will soon be born for us and our neighbors. Our love and fealty to Jerusalem, we express through the verse in Isaiah: “For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be still, until her righteousness emanates like bright light, and her salvation blazes like a torch.”
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