Over 1,500 new immigrants from around the world participated in a festive musical prayer service organized by OU Israel to mark the 57th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification during the Six-Day War. The event was held Wednesday morning on the Haas Promenade in Armon HaNatziv, overlooking the Old City and Temple Mount.
Rabbi Avi Berman, executive director of OU Israel, emphasized the significance of the gathering, stating, "I stand and look at the city of Yerushalayim during this festive prayer and see three things that deeply move me. First, the site of the Temple that we all pray will be rebuilt soon. Second, the skyline of Yerushalayim and all the cranes building the city, remind us of the verse God builds up Yerushalayim; 'He gathers the dispersed of Israel.' Third, to see over 1,500 people in the crowd, including so many recent olim, who all came today to give thanks for this miracle of the ingathering of exiles. This is an uplifting time for me every year."
#WATCH: 1500 new olim from around the world participated in a festive prayer service organized by the @OrthodoxUnion at the Armon Hanatziv promenade overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
?OU Israel pic.twitter.com/SIAjilmnXK
— Israel National News - Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) June 5, 2024
The prayer service was led by Rabbi Noam Koenigsberg. Attendees included OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Moshe Hauer, who traveled from New York, Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King, and Yehuda Naftali, director of the Jerusalem municipality's Israel Heritage Department.
This marked the ninth year OU Israel has organized this special event aimed at assisting English-speaking immigrants in having a successful integration experience through its various programs.
Rabbi Hauer reflected on the liberation of Jerusalem 57 years ago, saying, "With God's kindness, we merited the return of the Jewish people to the Old City and the Western Wall. Today, we stand here overlooking where the Holy Temple stood, and we thank God for the victory and pray for help in winning this war. May it be that next year we will be able to pray together with those who had been taken hostage and with all of Klal Yisrael at the Holy Temple."
