A united Jerusalem forever!
June 3, 2008

By SAMSON KRUPNICK

We arrived as olim (new immigrants) to Savyon in Israel on Aug. 29, 1965 and were happy to settle peacefully in a community, including mostly olim from South Africa. We became active with this city and with the headquarters of the world Mizrachi and with the Board of the Mizrachi Bank. Our visits to Jerusalem were frequent.

In Savyon we were appointed chairman of the burial committee and later chief gabbai of the Synagogue. We were spiritually content with a peaceful active life. On our visits to Jerusalem, we were bound to limited areas with dreams of a hope of seeing the Western Wall.

Suddenly the peaceful life turned to a wicked war by the three strongest Arab armies of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. All of our soldiers and anything on wheels were at the front of Egypt, and Syria. We were assigned to delivering food products to the stores. Where there were underground places they were filled.

Savyon did not have underground places. We dug graves for use when planes and artillery fire hit Savyon. We were informed by the army that casualties may rise to 50,000. For three weeks the Egyptians threatened. All of a sudden on June 6, 1967, Israel attacked and destroyed the Egyptian Air Force on the ground. Two days later the Syrian Army was defeated and then the crack Jordan Army was defeated. The Six Day War was a true miracle.

Just a few weeks earlier, we were in Jerusalem and we showed them the way to the Kotel. They asked: "Do you think that you will be at the Kotel during your life?" We replied; "For us, it may not happen, but in a few years we might be there." A few days later after the Six Day War, as a columnist we had a soldier escort to the Kotel, meeting the Nazir father of Haifa Chief Rabbi Shear Yashiv Cohen. We proceeded to the Meirot Machpela burial of Avraham, Itzhak and Ya'akov, Sarah, Rivkah and Leah. We were the first layman to cover the entire area. We were only permitted to the eighth step was by the British and Arabs. There was great joy in all events.

Chief of Staff and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, the hero, danced for joy as did Army Rabbi Shlomo Goren holding the Torah in hand. The casualties were 280 – a relatively low level for so great a victory. There was peace and tranquility everywhere during the next six years.

It was being stated that Egypt may be preparing for a surprise attack. Where was the intelligence that Egypt was acquiring antitank and antiair equipment from Russia? Moshe Dayan assured Prime Minister Golda Meir that these were rumors and no more. To his amazement, Dayan was caught unprepared. Further he could not gather his troops on Yom Kippur 1973. When he was able to gather the troops, the Egyptians were destroying our tanks and killing our soldiers. Our attack was upon the antitank shooters whom they killed. But more were coming.

Then a true hero arose, General Ariel Sharon, who with daring took his troops across the Canal and cut off all supplies to Egyptian soldiers. A truce was called and the war was over with 2,800 casualties. The hero of the Six Day War became the full blank disgrace of the Yom Kippur War. There arose Prime Minister Menahem Begin with General Sharon at hand. Egyptian General Anwar Saddat wanted peace, but Israel had to leave all Sinai.

Ariel Sharon became prime minister, and to our amazement, he followed the advice of Shimon Peres of "land for peace," which we felt was a dead deal. He gave up the entire Gaza Strip declaring;" I give you all this land now we have peace." We begged of him not to remove Jews from this area. He refused. We begged him to at least remove Jews together in an area to the north. He promised to do so and we arranged with the leader not to resist. He did the opposite. He sent in 43,000 soldiers and police unarmed, forced them out .To this day, these Jews are not fully resettled.

All Arab groups of Hamas, Fatah and al Qaida held a military victory parade. The shock was so strong that to this day Sharon has not recovered. Now we have to be sure that the deputy prime minister, who was jailed recently for disorderly conduct, and who now wishes to divide Jerusalem, does not succeed. Mecca is the holy city for Arabs. Jerusalem is the Holy Land to Jews but not to Arabs.

Rabbi Shear Yashiv Cohen conducted special services at the Yeshurun Synagogue together with the United Synagogue organization, and included greetings from Director Eliezer Shefer on this Shabbat Shalom Yerushalayim. Countrywide and worldwide Hallel prayers were chanted, and rabbis spoke about a united Jerusalem forever. A 5th annual dinner of the OU Israel was held at the Jerusalem Great Synagogue with some 500 in attendance honoring Rabbi Nahman Kahana, Gay and Naama Nagar, and Yehezkel Mink, with Rabbi Sholom Gold as guest speaker. Proceeds were assigned to projects in Sderot. Zuda Band with Eli Shwebel performed.

Many other dinners emphasizing an eternal Jerusalem were held. An old time organization, the League for Special Children, was held at Marvad Hall honoring Hannah and Joseph Sondhelm for their devotion to the League. The guest speaker was Rabbi Reuven Aberman. The organization has done its excellent service for many years. On Monday, Yom Yerushalayim honored 24 outstanding Yakir Yerushalayim. Mayor Uri Lupolianski and the Jerusalem Council made the presentation. Previous Yakirim attended the presentations.

Clearly there will be problems with this government, but Jerusalem will hold strong and united.

Updated 6/11/08