Yerushalyim in Photos in 1890 & Now!

Witness what these 100+ years have done to Jerusalem and how, while becoming more advanced and developed, the historical character of the Holy City remains intact just as it has for thousands of years.

1. Damascus Gate, 1890.

One of Jerusalem’s most beautiful gates, built in 1537 under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Damascus Gate, today.

2. The Western Wall, 1898.

Notice that some stones contained writings in Hebrew, believed to be the work of visitors who wanted to commemorate their names upon the wall.

The Western Wall, today.

With time, the writings had faded and were replaced by a new tradition of placing notes in between the stones. Nowadays, there are separate praying spaces for men and women.

3. David Citadel, 1898.

The citadel dates back to the Mamluk era and was built on the site of an earlier fortification erected by King Herod.

David Citadel, today.

4. The Tower of David, c. 1930s.

Entrance to the Tower of David Museum, today.

The Tower of David Museum was opened in 1989 and contains archeological ruins dating back some 2,700 years.

5. The Garden Tomb, 1898.

Discovered only in 1867, the Garden Tomb is considered by some Christians to be the site of burial and resurrection of Jesus.

The Garden Tomb, today.

6. Tomb of Absalom, Kidron Valley, 1860.

Monumental tomb traditionally associated with Absalom, son of King David.

Tomb of Absalom, today.

7. The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives, 1898.

Burial on the Mount of Olives began in the period of the First Temple, some 3,000 years ago. The cemetery is the last resting place for some of the most esteemed people in Jewish history.

The Jewish Cemetery, today.

8. Mount of Olives, view from the Kidron Valley, 1898.

This photograph was taken before the rise of the Church of All Nations, which would be built between the years 1919-1924 near the garden of Gethsemane.

Mount of Olives, view from the Kidron Valley, today.

The Church of All Nations, seen here in the middle, is currently dominating the landscape.

9. Rooftops of the Christian Quarter, 1898.

Seen here are the Church of the redeemer and its Bell tower on the right, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre dome on the left.

Rooftops of the Christian Quarter, today.

10. The Calvary, the 12th station of the Cross at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 1898.

The Calvary, today.

11. Dormition Abbey, Mount Zion, 1898.

According to the tradition in Christianity, it is commonly believed that here, near the site of the Last Supper, Virgin Mary died.

Dormition Abbey, Mount Zion, today.

12. The Lions’ Gate, Old City Walls, 1890.

The gate was named the Lions’ gate after the four carvings just above its entrance, which are in fact leopards. They were placed by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century.

The Lions’ Gate, today

13. Zion Gate, 1898.

Zion gate leads into the Jewish Quarter and was the gate through which Israeli soldiers broke into the Old City during the 1967 war.

The gate closed and guarded by British soldiers during the Arab revolt against Jews and the British colonial rule, 1938.

Zion Gate, today

The facade shows the scars of the 1948 war and has never been restored. The numerous bullet holes are visible to this day.

14. Jaffa Gate with the Tower of David on the background, 1900.

Jaffa Gate with the Tower of David on the background, today.

15. Lancers marching through Jaffa Gate, overlooking the David Citadel, 1900.

Overlooking the David Citadel from Jaffa Gate, today.

16. The British War Cemetery of Jerusalem, 1917.

Located on Mount Scopus, the cemetery contains some 2500 graves of fallen soldiers who died in the region during World War I.

The British War Cemetery of Jerusalem, today.

17. Overlooking the Temple Mount and Western Wall, 1920.

Overlooking the Temple Mount and Western Wall, today.

The Western Wall yard was built after the liberation in 1967 to make room for the masses of worshipers frequenting the site.

18. Damascus Gate, 1925.

Damascus Gate, today.

Art installations during Jerusalem’s annual Festival of Light.

19. St. Paul’s Church, 1934.

Established in 1873 with the support of the English Church Missionary Society.

St. Paul’s Church, today.

20. View from the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, 1934.

The center was established during the 1880’s to accommodate pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. The Notre Dame church was opened here in 1904.

View from the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, today.

The center serves today as a boutique guesthouse and contains the church and a couple of restaurants. It is one of the most striking buildings in Jerusalem.

21. British troops on the roof of the Tower of David, 1938.

View from the roof of the Tower of David, today.

22. Overview of Jerusalem’s Old City, from Jaffa Gate on the left to Mount Zion on the right, 1938.

Overview of Jerusalem’s Old City, today.

23. A scene from Jaffa Street, 1940.

Jaffa Street, today.

The construction of Jerusalem’s light rail began in 2002 and became operational as recently as 2011. Today Jaffa Street is closed to any other means of transportation but the light train.

24. Rooftops of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 1950.

According to Christianity, the site of the crucifixion and where Jesus is said to have been buried and resurrected.

Rooftops of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, today.

25. Rays of light shining upon the Old City, 1942.

Some things never change: rays of light shining upon Jerusalem’s Old City, today.

The Miracles of the 6 day war in 1967

Confusion again reigns today in many Jewish circles, particularly in Israel:

 Some of us joyfully celebrate a festive holiday, while others watch from the side, not sure what to make of it. Some recite the usual Tachanun penitential prayer and bemusedly ask, "What, another religious-Zionist holiday?" as their neighbors recite the joyous Hallel prayer instead.

A quick review of the miraculously historic events of this month 48 years ago may help clear up some of the confusion.

 A brief synopsis: As on Purim, Passover, and other holidays, our enemies set out to destroy us – literally – and G-d came to the rescue at the last moment.

And now, in detail:

The Jerusalem Municipality's readying of thousands of body bags sufficiently indicates the national mood in May 1967. 

Several Arab nations, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, were threatening loudly and repeatedly to wipe Israel off the map. 

On May 18, 1967, for instance, Cairo Radio announced, “The Zionist barrack in Palestine is about to collapse and be destroyed. Every one of the 100 million Arabs has been living for the past 19 years on one hope – to live to see the day Israel is liquidated… The sole method we shall apply against Israel is a total war which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence.”

Egypt had just begun moving its massive forces towards the Sinai Peninsula, closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and ordered the UN peacekeeping forces to leave. Israel had no choice but to take its own self-defense initiative – and, in a three-hour surprise attack, shortly before 8 AM, succeeded in wiping out practically the entire Egyptian Air Force on the ground. Thus began the Six Day War.

As noted by Israeli historian Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi, the fact that Israel's planes reached the many Egyptian airfields without being detected – only one (!) plane was shot down, and that was two full hours after the surprise began - could not have happened had not the following "coincidences" conjoined:

• 
  
• Top Egyptian and Iraqi commanders took part in an aerial survey over the Sinai that very morning (unbeknownst to Israel). For the sake of security, the Egyptian War Minister instructed all of his anti-aircraft units not to fire under any circumstances between the hours of 7:00 and 8:00 AM – the precise hour of the Israeli attack. (All the participants in the aerial tour were later put on military trial and demoted; some were imprisoned.)
• 
  
• For several days prior, the Egyptians dispatched four Mig-21's to patrol the Sinai skies, at half-hour intervals, from 4:30 AM until 8:30 AM. Their purpose was to detect in advance a feared Israeli attack. On that Monday morning, the Egyptian flights took place as usual – except for the 7:30 patrol! It turned out that the deputy commander of the missing formation "had been delayed at home for personal reasons…" – namely, a morale-raising party, with belly-dancers, food, and drink in abundance, held for the Egyptian pilots the night before. When he finally arrived, he found that he no longer had reason to show up…
• Though the Egyptians did not detect the oncoming Israeli planes, the Jordanian army did – but when they tried to message their Egyptian colleagues, a mess-up in the code-words prevented the critical communication from getting through.
• 
  

Only later, of course, did these miracles become known. 

The Six Day War continued in the meanwhile on two fronts, against Egypt and Syria. Israel asked Jordan - which then controlled Judea, Samaria, and most of the areas around Jerusalem, including the Old City - to stay out of the war. "We won't attack you if you don't attack us," came the message to Jordan.

Had this plea been heeded, and had events proceeded "naturally," Jerusalem would still be divided today, with no Jewish access to any of its holy sites. 

Similarly, Ramat Eshkol, Pisgat Ze'ev, Maaleh Adumim, Beit El, Elon Moreh, and many other dynamic Jewish communities that now thrive with Jews from all over the world – would not now exist…

The plea was not heeded, however. Instead, Jordan responded with a barrage against the Jews of Jerusalem – and the IDF took on a third front. The two critical developments that then followed were these:

1. Heroic battles in which the IDF captured important sites around Jerusalem (such as what became known as Ammunition Hill).

2. A courageous and historic decision by the Israeli Government not to suffice with encircling the Holy City and neutralizing the military threat, but rather to burst through and capture the entire city.

At 10:00 AM on Wednesday morning, the third day of the war – the 28th of Iyar – the Israeli forces broke through the walls of the Old City, via both Dung Gate in the southeast part of the city, near the Jewish Quarter, and Lions Gate in the northeast, capturing the Moslem Quarter and the Temple Mount.

As Dr. Hagai Ben-Artzi wrote in his "Scroll of the Six Days": "At 10:30, the voice of Mota Gur, commander of the Paratroopers Brigade, could be heard declaring on every IDF radio receiver: 'The Temple Mount is in our hands. I repeat: The Temple Mount is in our hands!' 

It was a moment of unparalleled, sheer excitement for everyone who heard it. One thousand nine hundred years after the destruction of the Second Temple, the Nation of Israel was privileged, with G-d's help, to return to the Temple Mount and to liberate it. The mayor of the Arab city stood waiting for the troops on the Mount, and presented them with his writ of surrender."

It is important to note that though most Jews were thrilled in 1948 when the renewed State of Israel was established, for others the joy was greatly tempered by the lack of inclusion in its borders of the holy sites of Jerusalem – and particularly the Temple Mount.

In fact, just three weeks before the Six Day War, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, the head of Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook, appeared to be gripped by prophecy when he cried out to his students on Independence Day of that year, "Where is our Hevron!? Have we forgotten it? And where is our Shechem (Nablus)?  Have we forgotten it!? And where is our Jericho? Have we forgotten it?! ... And where is all the rest of the Land of Israel?  Where are all the pieces of G-d's Land?  Do we have the right to give up even one millimeter?  Heaven forbid!" 

The continued longing for Jerusalem in the 19 years between ’48 and ’67 was expressed on another level by Naomi Shemer, in her famous song "Jerusalem of Gold." 

The original lyrics read, 

"The city that sits solitary, and in its midst - a wall... How the cisterns have dried, the market-place is empty, and no one frequents the Temple Mount, in the Old City... Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light, Behold I am a violin for all your songs..."

Just a few months later, she was able to add these lyrics as the final stanza: 

"We have returned to the cisterns, To the market and to the market-place, A ram's horn (shofar) is heard on the Temple Mount, In the Old City." 

 The song Jerusalem of Gold quickly became Israel's unofficial national anthem, sung in joy at every opportunity.

The grave-diggers around the country realized joyfully that their efforts just a few days earlier had largely been in vain.

Let us now all – yes, all of us! – sing out in unison, "Happy Jerusalem Day!"

Satmar Rebbe Of Kiryas Yoel: Chareidi Parties Sold Out for Money ....

Look whose talking? 
The biggest money grubber since Matan Torah is talking!!!

The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Yoel Shlita accuses the chareidi parties in the Knesset of “selling out for money”. The Rebbe came out in a harsh attack against the new coalition government in Israel which includes the chareidim.

“The Torah prohibits serving in the IDF – even those who do not study Torah. The reality is that a chareidi entering the army leaves half non-frum” the rebbe stated.

DIN:The Torah prohibits serving in the IDF?

Show us where in the Torah it says that?

Doesn't it say just the opposite in Parshas Behar?

The rebbe explained that to date, the non-frum were responsible for compelling bnei Torah to serve in the army but now the chareidim will be a part of this. “Now it will be kosher and it will be prohibited to protest against it. Are the chareidim willing to sell out for money?” he added.

DIN: Didn't you sell out for money? Didn't your father make your brother R' Zalman Leib, rebbe?

How did you become Rebbe? Wasn't it all about the mighty $$$$$ and power?

The rebbe rejects the explanation that this is decided by the defense minister, adding one cannot know with certainty that he will not compel the chareidim to serve.

The rebbe further stated “A Jew, for as long as he is a Jew whose fathers stood at Har Sinai is prohibited from serving in the army, and it does not matter how much money will be received for yeshivos”.

DIN:Just so happens that the Torah says just the opposite, that all males over the age of 20 have to serve in the army with few exceptions!

Yom Yerushalyim

Rabbi David Bar-Hayim debunks the Outrageous Satmar SHIT'ah

Satmar teaches their children that the Zionist wanted to murder Reb Shimon bar Yochai!

The above Lag -Baomer sheet is a multiple choice question homework sheet for Satmar children and just like Hamas and Hezbolla, Satmar start brainwashing their toddlers with anti-Jewish propaganda at a very early age!

Translation of the sheet!
Question #1
When is the Yarzeit of Reb Shimoen bar Yachai?
possible answers
a) Rosh Chodosh Iyar
b) Pesach Sheni
c) Lag Baomer

DIN: BTW all the above possible answers are wrong... according to the Ari Hakodesh and the Chidda, the yurzeit of RSBY is not on Lag Baomer and is actually unknown! see below

Question #2
What was the name of Reb Shimon bar Yochai's father?
a) Rabbi Akivah
b) Rabbi Eluzer
c) Rabbi Yochai

Question #3
Who wanted to kill Reb Shimon bar Yochai?
a) The Greeks
b) The Romans
c) The Zionists

DIN: I would have added another possible answer to Question #3
d) Romanian Satmar gypsies

מקובל בפי כל, כי יום ל"ג לעומר הוא יום פטירתו של רבי שמעון בר יוחאי, אולם הגאון בעל ה"שואל ומשיב" תמה על כך, שאם יום זה הוא יום פטירת רבי שמעון, לא היה לנו לשמוח כלל ביום זה, כי מה שמחה יש בפטירת הצדיקים? אולם בשו"ת שם אריה כתב שהטעם שעושים שמחה ביום זה, הוא מפני שנודע מה שאמרו בגמרא במסכת שבת (לג:) שגזרה מלכות הרשעה גזר דין מות על רבי שמעון בר יוחאי, ונעשה לו נס שנחבא במערה וניצל מחרב רעה של מלכות הרשעים, ועל כן יש לנו לעשות שמחה ביום בו יצא מן העולם כדרך כל הארץ, להודות לה' על הנס שנעשה לו.

ולעצם הדבר מה שאמרנו שביום ל"ג לעומר נפטר רבי שמעון בר יוחאי, כתב רבינו מרן החיד"א, כי באמת אין הדבר נכון שרבי שמעון נפטר בל"ג לעומר, וטעות היא ביד מי שאומר כן, והוכיח כן ממה שהמהר"ש ויטאל האריך הרבה מאד בענין סוד ימי העומר ויום ל"ג לעומר, ולא בא בפיו שיום זה הוא יום פטירתו של רבי שמעון בר יוחאי. ועל כן כתב שאפשר כי עיקר השמחה ביום זה היא על כך שבאותו היום התחיל רבי עקיבא ללמד את חמשת תלמידיו שהחיו את העולם בהפיצם תורה בכל מקום, וממעיין זה אנו יונקים עד עצם היום הזה. וכן הגאון בעל "פרי חדש" כתב, כי עיקר השמחה ביום ל"ג לעומר היא על אותם התלמדים של רבי עקיבא שנשארו חיים והם הפיצו תורה לכל העולם, ומכיון שמיום זה נשארו אלו התלמידים לפליטה, לכן עושים שמחה גדולה.