ليس هناك دولة لإسرائيل دون القدس

بقلم: بنيامين نتنتياهو

جاروزاليم بوست- 16/5/2007 

إذا فشلنا في قتالنا في القدس... فإننا سنفشل في أي مكان آخر

Bibi's Blog: There is no state without Jerusalem

By BINYAMIN NETANYAHU

Someone recently mentioned to me something they had read in David Ben Gurion's memoirs. As a boy in Plonsk, Ben Gurion saw his mother light Shabbat candles next to a picture of the Western Wall, and crying softly for Jerusalem.

This, perhaps, is a very good explanation to what occurred later during the War of Independence. The battle for Jerusalem was extremely hard, and nearly a third of the fatalities, approximately 2,000 fighters, died in battles in and around Jerusalem - in Gush Etzion, Sha'ar Haguy, and the convoys.

Every day dozens of fighters died and commanders told Ben Gurion "enough, we can fight any more." Ben Gurion banged on the table, exclaiming: "This is Jerusalem ! There is no state without Jerusalem !" He expressed a truth forged in each of our hearts and the heart of the Jewish collective.

When King David established Jerusalem as his kingdom’s capital 3,000 years ago, the states that today refuse to hold their embassies here were not yet in existence. These states should know: Our bond with Jerusalem goes back millennia. This bond is written in the Bible, fortified by the tears and hopes of our long exile.

In Jerusalem the kings of Israel ruled, in Jerusalem the prophets prophesized, in Jerusalem the identity and essence of the Jewish People have been forged.

This bond is so strong, that even when Jerusalem was demolished and we were exiled from the city and the land, we returned to it. And when it was demolished again, the city ravaged and its name changed – we still remained faithful. The Jews have clung to Jerusalem throughout the ages and were a majority in the city already in the mid 19th Century, despite the land was that was laying in waste, abandoned by all its past conquerors.

Even in the Diaspora, we did not abandon Jerusalem . No matter where they were, Jews have always crowned their prayers with the saying “next year in Jerusalem .” One cannot find similar ties between a people and a city or between a religion and a city. Catholics, for example, never say “next year in the Vatican .” There are indeed links between different religions and different cities, Jerusalem being important to other creeds as well, even if not in the same manner. We respect these links.

When put to the test of history, only we, the Jews, respected those links. The Crusaders and the Muslims were competing who would conquer land from whom, who would prevent whom from exercising their authority on the holy sites of the city. Only when we regained rule of the city, we opened its gates to all faiths, promising freedom of creed.

Our return to Jerusalem , always beneficial to others, was laced with bloody struggles.

Someone recently mentioned to me something they had read in David Ben Gurion’s memoirs. As a boy in Plonsk, Ben Gurion saw his mother light Shabbat candles next to a picture of the Western Wall, and crying softly for Jerusalem .

This, perhaps, is a very good explanation to what occurred later during the War of Independence. The battle for Jerusalem was extremely hard, and nearly a third of the fatalities, approximately 2,000 fighters, died in battles in and around Jerusalem – in Gush Etzion, Sha’ar Haguy, and the convoys. Every day dozens of fighters died and commanders told Ben Gurion “enough, we can fight any more.” Ben Gurion banged on the table, exclaiming: “This is Jerusalem ! There is no state without Jerusalem !” He expressed a truth forged in each of our hearts and the heart of the Jewish collective.

There is no state without Jerusalem .

The first Jewish struggle for Jerusalem in the modern era was the brave departure from the confines of the city walls and the building of Mishkenot Sha’ananim. The struggle continued with each and every neighborhood, especially after the Six Day War victory.

Gilo, Ramot, Pisgat Ze’ev – the international community objected to the foundation of all of these neighborhoods.

As prime minister I had a modest part in the building of Jerusalem , presiding over the establishment of the neighborhood Har Homa, and of this I am proud. What fierce objection this decision faced, in the world and unfortunately, even by some members of this Knesset! But this is how Jerusalem was built and this is how it will be built in the future, stemming from the same age-old decree.

On this holiday of Jerusalem we recall this decree and the words of our first prime minister: There is no state without Jerusalem . And I add: If we fail to fight for Jerusalem , we will fail fighting anywhere else!

http://blogcentral.jpost.com/index.php?cat_id=6&blog_id=50&blog_post_id=1121

-----------------

نشرنا لهذه المقالات لا يعني أنها تعبر عن وجهة نظر المركز كلياً أو جزئياً

ـ

ـ

من حق الزائر الكريم أن ينقل وأن ينشر كل ما يعجبه من موقعنا . معزواً إلينا ، أو غير معزو .ـ