The central thanksgiving rally was held at the 'Mercaz HaRav' yeshiva last night (Friday night) to mark the 59th anniversary of the liberation of the Old City and the holy sites.
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The event, which opened with a festive evening prayer and dancing by yeshiva students, has been considered the central focus of Jerusalem Day for decades.
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During the evening, the Chief Rabbis, Rishon LeZion Rabbi David Yosef and Rabbi Kalman Bar, former Rabbi of Jerusalem Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon, Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, and more spoke.
The various rabbis noted in their remarks the need to continue to preserve the existence of the Bat Midrash, which are the walls of Jerusalem throughout the generations. The various speakers also addressed the greatness and holiness of Jerusalem, as well as Israel's strategic position this year, which has been strengthened following operations "Am Kalavi" (Sivan last year) and "Shaagat Hari" (the eve of last Purim).
The gathering was graced with the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara. The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, congratulated the Prime Minister on his great achievements in Israel's security and political status and presented him with a special memento on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, in memory of his brother, Yoni Netanyahu.
The head of the yeshiva told the prime minister in his speech: "In the Book of Judges it is written: 'If God had wanted to kill us, He would not have taken from us a burnt offering and a grain offering, nor would we have shown all these.' When we see eye to eye the wonders of God and the heavenly assistance, which we already told you last year was your greatest accomplishment in the Knesset, it is a sign and a token that God, the Blessed, is standing behind all of this to grow the seed of salvation. The moves are divine, they have existence and continuity, and you have been blessed to be the outstretched arm of the people of Israel and the Blessed One.".
The Prime Minister opened his remarks by addressing his host, Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Yaakov Shapira, and emphasized the sense of homeliness he and his wife felt at the place.
""I don't know if you know, but I am a Levi. One hundred percent from this side, one hundred percent from that side. And when Levi comes to the Cohen family - he feels at home," Netanyahu said.
The Prime Minister then compared Operation 'Harry's Roar' to the Book of Esther, which he read at a yeshiva on the recent Purim holiday: "The then-ruler in Persia, and the present-day ruler in Persia, both sought to destroy us. Both disappeared. Because at the moment of truth, we stood tall. We fought back a hair-raising war against our enemies. We defended our existence with endless determination. What did I hear Fried and you singing here? 'Forever, forever, forever.'.
He went on to say that in the past two years, Israel has proven to the entire world "what great powers lie within our people, our country, our army, our heritage. We rose like a lion. We roared like a lion. And do you know what the greatest thing we did? We did many, many, great things.".
Netanyahu emphasized: "The biggest thing is that we broke the barrier of fear. We don't gather on the Day of Our Mothers. We go out into space. We initiate, do, attack, crush our enemies. And the lion cub of Judah inflicted unprecedented blows on those who seek our lives. We returned all our captives to the land, down to the last one. There were those who said: Get out, get out! We didn't get out. Today we control 60%, tomorrow we'll see.".
He added: "We have removed from ourselves, as Rabbi Shapira said a few minutes ago, we have removed from ourselves an immediate existential danger of nuclear bombs and thousands of ballistic missiles, which Iran has developed. And I want to tell you, you need to understand this, my fellow ministers know this: If we had not done this, Iran today would have at least one atomic bomb, and they may have been on their way to the arsenal, but that did not happen.".
""We rose like a lion, and roared like a lion, and we do not stretch our necks to the slaughterer. This thing is over in the history of our people. The campaign is not over yet, but it is already clear that we have changed the history of the State of Israel. And at the same time - as I promised we would - we have also changed the Middle East.".
The event continued until the wee hours of the night with singing and dancing about the 'miracle of the liberation of the city' and the recent victories in the campaign for Israel's security.
