By Eli Mendelbaum, Yael Freidson & Kobi Nachshoni, YNet—
Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Western Wall throughout the day Wednesday in what appeared to be defiant display of rejection against UNESCO’s Tuesday adoption of a resolution which Israel says denies the deep historic Jewish connection to holy sites in Jerusalem.
The deluge of attendants packed the holy site to its parameters as worshippers sought to participate in the traditional annual blessings given by the high priests during Chol Hamoed—the interim period between Sukkot and Simchat Torah.
The celebratory prayer services, which were attended by Israel’s chief rabbis, took place in particularly enthusiastic fashion as participants demonstrated their disregard for the UNESCO resolution which failed to acknowledge a Jewish connection to the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem by exclusively using the its Islamic appellation.
Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau told Ynet that, contrary to the implicit conclusions of the resolution about Israel’s non-existent ties with the holy sites in the Old City, the flocking of thousands of Jews to the Western Wall was illustrative of the reality of the firmly entrenched Jewish roots and its undeniable presence.
“UNESCO can decide what it wants, but the reality is that the nation of Israel comes and votes with its feet and is here. We all look forward to the priestly blessings which conclude with the words, ‘peace in your name’ (and we hope it) will come about swiftly for the entire world,” Rabbi Lau said.
Witnessing the gigantic turnout, Western Wall and Holy Sites Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz could also hardly resist expressing his contempt for UNESCO’s decision.
“Sukkot is a festival of solidarity and there is no greater happiness than the solidarity of Israel,” he declared. “We see this wonderful solidarity today, which transcends (political) camps and ethnicity, all across the Western Wall plaza and this is our answer to UNESCO. Anyone who doubts our connection with the Kotel or the Temple Mount should see the thousands who have gathered here today. This is the answer to the delusional decision.”
Since Sukkot is now well-established among thousands of Christians worldwide–and many celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles at thousands of their home churches, congregations and fellowships–the UNESCO vote does not reflect
REALITY. The nation of Israel benefits with the HUGE economic boost of both Jewish and Christian Sukkot pilgrims
who arrive yearly to celebrate the festival in Jerusalem; pilgrims have a great time visiting all the historical attractions and attending music festivals; hotels and arenas fill up with happy, festive guests; local folks and pilgrims meet each other and form friendships; pilgrims meet other pilgrims from over 90 nations; and everyone has a great time! Yearly attendance at the Feast of Tabernacles appears to be growing and shows no sign of slowing down–so I guess the rest of us did not get
the UNESCO memo and we’ll continue to celebrate Sukkot in our own countries AND in Jerusalem. WE SHALL WAVE THAT LULAV/ETROG AND GET OUR SUKKOT PRAISE ON, ANYHOW! 🙂