Thank you, President Trump
Op-ed: Jerusalem is not, and will never be, an obstacle for those who seek peace, writes Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, along with moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem, are pivotal landmarks in the right of the Jewish people for its land and its quest for peace.
The Jerusalem I was born into was small and intimate, but also frightened and hesitant. A city that is under British Occupation, a city where there was constant fear of the unknown. The "Wall of Tears" was located on an end of a narrow street, hidden and ashamed.
When the Jewish quarter fell in the hands of the Jordanian Legion, during the Israel War of Independence, our hearts stopped beating. We didn't have the strength to imagine a Jerusalem that is outside the walls without the Jerusalem inside the walls.
And then came the Six Days War. I was the intelligence officer of the Jerusalem Brigade. I still can't forget the sense of joy and relief that came with the news of the liberation of the city. Like my forefathers, I felt as if I were a part of the history of Jerusalem.
50 years have passed since Jerusalem was liberated and she still needs its lovers and those who bear her secrets. This city needs those who know and understand, simply and without poetic phrases, that Zionism without Zion is an empty shell. That Jerusalem is the microcosm of all our existence here in the land of Israel.
The declaration of President Trump was the "obvious" that should have been said. Apparently, even the obvious can sometimes be deeply moving.
I believe there is no better or more beautiful present for the state of Israel on its 70th year of independence. While we are celebrating 50 years of unification of the city, the time has come to bring peace to Jerusalem and cultivate hope in the capital of Israel, a place for pilgrims from all around the world.
Each and every one of us has their own Jerusalem. For thousands of years, the Jewish people had looked up to Jerusalem, prayed for it and dreamed of it. Recognition of Jerusalem as the capital, along with moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem, are pivotal landmarks in the right of the Jewish people for its land and its quest for peace.
Jerusalem is not, and will never be, an obstacle for those who seek peace. Jerusalem exists beyond all considerations: tactical or political. Some relationships are eternal and stand above all negotiations or the test of time.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may they prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palace (Psalms 122).
