From Israel: Tough, Resolute and Joyous!!

Arlene Kushner | May 19, 2026

Today I continue my theme of Israel’s growing strength. And what better way to begin than with Yom Yerushalayim, which occurred this past Friday.

We celebrate on the anniversary of the day that Jerusalem was reunited with great bravery during the Six Day War of 1967: the third day of the war, which was June 7th. We celebrate the Hebrew date, 28 Iyar.
Indeed we were tough and resolute (amazing, actually) as we fought that war. And when we gained control of the Old City in eastern Jerusalem, where the Kotel (the Western Wall) and the Temple Mount are situated, we were then filled with joy and great gratitude. For 19 years Jews had been forbidden access to this area by Jordan.

IDF Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin said then:

“I felt truly shaken and stood there murmuring a prayer for peace… We stood among a tangle of rugged, battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.”

Israelforever.org

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During the War of Independence in 1948, Jordan had seized the eastern portion of Jerusalem. When an armistice agreement was signed between Israel and Jordan, it contained a commitment by the Jordanians to allow Jews access to their holy places. Not only did the Jordanians subsequently renege on this commitment, they destroyed synagogues.

Here we see the demolished Hurva synagogue (which has long since been rebuilt).

They also vandalized Jewish cemeteries – including portions of the oldest and largest Jewish cemetery in continuous existence, on Har Hazeitim (the Mount of Olives), on the eastern side of the Old City, facing Har Habayit (the Temple Mount); it dates back 3,000 years.

Hurva synagogue. By Daniel.baranek 19:17, 21 February 2007 (UTC) (Original uploader was Chesdovi at en.wikipedia) – 1939 JNF photo archives, Public Domain, Wikipedia

They also vandalized Jewish cemeteries – including portions of the oldest and largest Jewish cemetery in continuous existence, on Har Hazeitim (the Mount of Olives), on the eastern side of the Old City, facing Har Habayit (the Temple Mount); it dates back 3,000 years.

Mount of Olives jerusalem 1950. Photo by Berthold Werner – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikipedia

There is a signal lesson here, folks.

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Who are told that one of the reasons King David had selected Jerusalem as his capital was because it did not belong to any one of the twelve tribes of Israel and thus would belong to all the tribes.

The 19 years during which Jordan controlled part of the city was the only time period in the 3,000+ year history of Jerusalem that it was divided.

Jerusalem is our eternal capital, never to be divided again. Since the time of King David, it has never been the capital of any other people. And I can state with certainty that whatever claims might be made elsewhere, no part of Jerusalem will ever be a capital of a “Palestinian state.”

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The redemption of the Old City remains a work in progress today: the story is not yet complete. When we took eastern Jerusalem, Moshe Dayan, then defense minister, struck an agreement with the Muslim Wakf. The Muslims would be in charge of daily administration of the Mount, while Israel retained sovereignty and was responsible for security.

I will not attempt to analyze Dayan’s rationale for establishing this arrangement, but it was a bad one with regard to Jewish rights. No, an outrageous one. Muslims would pray on the Temple Mount, Jews would not be allowed to do so.

In recent years, there have been court rulings indicating that Jews could pray on the Mount – but with a proviso: If, in the judgement of the police, Jews praying on the Mount would generate Arab violence, the police would be able to forbid the Jewish prayers from taking place. (E.g., the Israeli Supreme Court, in the 2004 case of Gershon Salomon v. Minister of Police.)

Bit by bit, and with determination, Jews have challenged this situation. At first, prayer was held in small groups and very quietly – so as not to attract Arab attention. But today prayer is held openly.

In the picture below, the prayers are being held facing the Dome of the Rock because it is broadly understood that this Muslim edifice was built on top of the site of the Temples.

Screengrab via Youtube

This opportunity to pray on the Mount has been made possible because Jews persisted, without caving to Arab demands. (Another signal lesson.) There were early efforts before MK Itamar Ben-Gvir (Chair Otzma Yehudit – Jewish Strength) became Minister of National Security, but he has played a primary role here. Ignoring all claims of “status quo,” he has stated simply, “Our policy is to allow prayer.” And prayer is happening.

I am always amused when the Palestinian Arabs put out an announcement that Ben- Gvir has been seen “storming” the Mount. And then there are pictures of him strolling.

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I encourage you to see and broadly share the data on my website about the Temple Mount and the plethora of material providing irrefutable evidence that Jews were on the Mount before Islam even existed.

https://41k.82b.myftpupload.com/the-temple-mount-whose-is-it/

There was a time in decades past when Muslim Arabs openly recognized the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount. Consider this example, among many:

A nine-page English-language tourist guide entitled “A Brief Guide to al-Haram al-Sharif [the Temple Mount] was published by the Supreme Moslem Council in 1925. It states that the Temple Mount site “is one of the oldest in the world. Its sanctity dates from the earliest times. Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute.” (Emphasis added)

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What we are seeing then is a startling turn-around: Once Muslim Arabs recognized the Temple Mount as having an incontrovertible connection to the Jewish people. But today any Jewish presence on the Mount is pronounced illegitimate by them; they maintain that Jews have no historical, religious connection to the Mount. Jews on the Mount are occupiers, usurpers, defilers.

The factors that have motivated this turnaround are both religious and political and are tied directly to the founding of Israel. Muslims are offended by the presence of a Jewish state on what they believe to be Muslim land. What is more, in attempting to establish a principle that the Mount is Muslim they seek to undermine the claim of Jews to the land more broadly. Control of the Mount confers legitimacy.

Thus it is of paramount importance that Jews remain strong in providing evidence – textual and archeological – of the existence of the ancient Temples and in defending our right to a major presence on the Temple Mount. To do otherwise would be a grave political tactical error. Even more, it would be an abandonment of an ancient legacy of profound religious significance.

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I make one final point here, which should be understood by all, regarding Muslim claims to the Mount. The Muslims contend that they have maintained the original status quo on the Mount, while the Jews have moved beyond it. This simply is not the case. I cite here from an article by Nadav Shragai and Lenny Ben-David, who document a number of significant ways in which the Muslims have breached the status quo, to the detriment of Jews:

[] The number of mosques has increased over time from one to five. After the Six Day War, there was only the Al Aqsa Mosque, the traditional site for Muslim prayer. (Note that Muslim Arabs often refer to the entire Mount as “Al Aqsa.”) Next was the Dome of the Rock, which had not been a mosque.

Then, in 1996, Solomon’s Stables was converted to an underground mosque. What was done here was deeply disturbing, as excavation with heavy machinery caused serious damage to Jewish antiquities.

Israel was remiss here in not properly supervising this work and allowing destruction to take place. Yet another lesson for the future. When we fail to exhibit strength, there is a price to be paid.

Shortly after Solomon’s Stables were converted, the Muslims converted part of ancient Al Aqsa, under the existent Al Aqsa mosque, as a separate mosque. And then, finally, the Gate of Mercy was seized by the Muslims and turned into a mosque.

In addition to this, the Muslims have paved extensive areas of the Mount to be utilized as places of prayer.

[] Restrictions on visitations to the Mount grew over the years, both with regard to places of entry and times of visitations. Muslims can enter the Mount at any time. But the Mount is opened to non-Muslims only Sunday – Thursday, 7:30-11:00 AM, and 1:30-2:30 PM. At one time Jews could ascend to the Mount on Friday and Shabbat as well. Previously, there were three gates through which Jews and other non-Muslims might enter the Mount; today entry is only via the Mughrabi Gate.

See more:

https://jcfa.org/who-is-breaking-the-status-quo-on-the-temple-mount/

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I had alluded above to the ancient Jewish cemetery on Har Hazeitim. I am delighted to report that an enormous amount of restoration work has been done, security has been greatly increased, and a visitors center is being constructed and will hopefully be open before long:

https://harhazeitim.com/en/homepage/

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While the liberation of eastern Jerusalem was the pinnacle of the Six Day War, there were other significant areas that were liberated: Judea & Samaria and Gaza. I look forward to examining the implications of this in my next post. As well as much, much more.

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Thursday night and Friday we observe Shavuot, which marks the giving of the Torah at Sinai, seven weeks after Pesach. It was also a traditionally a harvest festival.

To all those who will be celebrating, I wish a Chag Sameach.

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I ask, as I always do, that you please pray.

Dear Friends, if you find what I write helpful, please consider recommending to friends and family that they subscribe to my list; they can write to me at arlene@arlenefromisrael.info and ask to be added.

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©Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.