‘The State of Israel has, and will have, only one capital, Eternal Jerusalem. So it was 3000 years ago and so it will be, as we believe, for eternity’.”

Some 46 years later Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, inaugurated the Jerusalem 3000 festivities on 4 September 1995 – two months before his assassination – with the following words:

“Three thousand years of history look down upon us today, as do the dreams which cover the hyssop of the Western Wall and the silent graves of the Mount of Olives and Mount Herzl; the hush of the footsteps of the pilgrims and the thunder of the nailed boots of the ruthless conquerors; whose walls resonate with the prayers of the children and the pleas of the praying; where the exultation of victory mingled with the tears of the paratroopers next to the remnants of the Temple, liberated from the yoke of strangers.

Three thousand years of dreams and prayers today wrap Jerusalem in love and bring close Jews of every generation – from the fires of the Inquisition to the ovens of Auschwitz, and from all corners of the earth – from Yemen to Poland.

Three thousand years of Jerusalem are for us, now and forever, a message for tolerance between religions, of love between peoples, of understanding between the nations, of the penetrating awareness that there is no State of Israel without Jerusalem, and no peace without Jerusalem united – the City of Peace. On the day that the government offices were moved to Jerusalem, on 13 December 1949, the first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, said, ‘The State of Israel has, and will have, only one capital, Eternal Jerusalem. So it was 3000 years ago and so it will be, as we believe, for eternity’.”

Sadly, the price of peace is high – it cost Rabin and many others, on all sides, their lives.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem” says the psalmist. As we consider the needs of Jerusalem today, in the light of elections in March 2015, the ongoing long-term, violent, intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we recognise the key role Messianic Jews have to play. Who else can effectively model reconciliation, peace-making and conflict resolution in such a war-torn area? Who else can show the unity that we have in the Body of Messiah, the Church, with our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Yeshua, with whom we must seek peace, unity and brotherhood and sisterhood that transcends ethnic, political and cultural divisions? How else can the world see that Yeshua is truly the Messiah, unless his disciples have love for one another (John 13:35).

Prayer: Lord, we pray urgently for the peace of Jerusalem. May it be a peace that covers both Jew and Arab, Israeli and Palestinian, and all those living in the Jerusalem, the eternal city. May it be based on your justice, righteousness, judgment and mercy. May we be peace-makers, whatever the cost, and follow in your Son our Messiah’s footsteps. May we practice forgiveness and reconciliation, especially amongst our enemies. In our Messiah’s name we pray. Amen.

Source:

http://www.bje.org.au/learning/MHist/conflict/presence.html