Page 3 - Hamizrachi #30 USA 2021 Yom Yerushalayim - Shavuot

TORAT MIZRACHI
TORAT MIZRACHI

Rabbi Doron Perez

Jerusalem’s D-Day

When the Hand of Heaven Changed the Course of Human History

here is no rational way to cities across Israel, including heavy Brigade 55, together with the Harel
explain the remarkable bombardment of Jewish West Jerusalem. and Jerusalem brigades, had almost
circumstances that led to the Not wanting to engage in war with surrounded the Old City.
liberation of the Old City of Jordan, Israel repeatedly implored the Moshe Dayan, the Defense Minister
TJerusalem in 1967. It was one Jordanians to cease fire and promised in the Unity Government, had ordered
of the most unexpected and inexplicable they would not react. Once all diplomatic them not to capture the Old City, for
phenomena in the history of human attempts failed, Israel had no choice but two reasons. Firstly, the intention of this
warfare. to defend itself and enter the unplanned defensive war was never to conquer the
To begin with, there was no battle fray in Jerusalem. Israel would have to Old City of Jerusalem and its holy sites,
plan for Jerusalem whatsoever. Israeli defend their “Auschwitz Borders” all at sacred to many religions. Secondly, he
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intelligence never expected the once. was aware of the large Jordanian military
impending confrontation to include Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, a member of the presence in the Old City, especially on
Jordan, which had been in control of the paratrooper reserve Brigade 55 under the Temple Mount, with huge amounts
Old City since 1948. the command of Motta Gur, recalls the of artillery and ammunition. Having seen
Egypt was the issue. In contravention surprising change in plan. On the first the devastating losses on that one day,
of international law, Egypt had closed day of the war, he and his fellow soldiers Dayan anticipated much greater losses in
the Straits of Tiran and sent 100,000 were en route to El Arish in Sinai when hand-to-hand street combat, especially in
troops and thousands of tanks into the they received an urgent command to defence of the holy sites. This would be
demilitarized Sinai Peninsula, a clear act redirect to Jerusalem. Since it was so a battle Israel would not fight… or so he
of aggression and war intent. Along with spontaneous, the IDF had only a few thought.
that mounting threat from the south, hours to familiarize themselves with the What he didn’t realize was that “Divine
tensions were also building on the Syrian routes and topography in and around the destiny was knocking at the door.” The
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border in the north. Likely battles on two capital. drama of Jewish destiny was about to
fronts perhaps, but certainly not on the With only partial intelligence, a dire unfold.
long mountain range border with Jordan lack of East Jerusalem maps, and in That same evening, two utterly
in the east. complete darkness, the troops charged unexpected and unpredictable things
President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt into battle at 2.00 am early Tuesday occurred.
had other plans. Unbeknown to the morning on the second day of the war. It The first, in a remarkable display
Israelis, Jordan had signed an agreement was then the paratroopers engaged in of unity, left-wing Yigal Alon and
with Egypt, placing the Jordanian Army the fierce battles on Ammunition Hill, Menachem Begin from the right came
under the direct command of Nasser’s the American Colony and Wadi Joz, and together to Prime Minster Levi Eshkol to
Chief of Staff, General Riad. It was suffered the worst day of losses in their intercede on behalf of Jerusalem.
Nasser’s plan to unleash a triple-pronged unit’s history. Now was the time to liberate the Holy
attack – from Egypt, Jordan and Syria, Rabbi Bin-Nun lost 100 comrades in City.
which he believed the young State of these battles. In comparison, the very Never in history had a people prayed
Israel could not defend, and he would same brigade fought for two weeks in the for and yearned so much for a city.
finally avenge the defeat of 1948. Yom Kippur War and lost 52 soldiers, half The emergency Cabinet heavily
On the first day of the war, during of those lost on this one blood-drenched debated the issue, with many concerned
the fighting with Egypt in Sinai, the day in the outskirts of Old Jerusalem. that the world would not tolerate a
Jordanian forces began shelling major However, despite the heavy price, Jewish conquest of Jerusalem, and that

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