Temple Mount Liberation 1967

Temple Mount Liberation, June 7, 1967

through the eyes of Rabbi Yisrael Ariel

 

In the June, 1967 Six Day War, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel was a young soldier in the paratrooper brigade, led by Gen. Motta Gur, which liberated Jerusalem's Old City. He was one of the first soldiers to reach the Temple Mount. The very first night that the Temple Mount returned to Israeli sovereignty, Rabbi Ariel was assigned the duty of guarding over the Dome of the Rock, site of the Holy of Holies in the Holy Temple. Looking back at that time, he relates to the uniqueness of the moment, both universally for all Jews and for himself personally: the return of the Jewish people to this spot, the one place on earth that G-d has chosen for Himself, to begin the resumption of the Divine service. Indeed, this moment was a harbinger for the birth of the Temple Institute.

Following are photographs taken during and after the conquest of the Temple Mount. These pictures reflect not only the unfolding events, but also impart a distinct sense of the profundity of the moment in the history of the nation of Israel:

Troops racing towards the Lion's Gate, enroute to the Temple Mount...
Troops racing towards the Lion's Gate, en route to the Temple Mount...

 

 

Prisoners are taken...
Prisoners are taken...

 

 

The troops take a moment to rest...
The troops take a moment to rest...

 

 

Guarding the Dome of the Rock: the site of the Holy of Holies...
Guarding the Dome of the Rock: the site of the Holy of Holies...

 

 

Gathering at the Western Wall to express thanks and gratitude. From left to right: Rabbi Yisrael Ariel (in combat helmet), the Nazarite - HaRav David Cohen, and HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook.
Gathering at the Western Wall to express thanks and gratitude. From left to right: Rabbi Yisrael Ariel (in combat helmet), the Nazarite - HaRav David Cohen, and HaRav Tzvi Yehuda Kook.

 

 

The Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defence Forces, Shlomo Goren, arrives at the liberated Western Wall. To his right are General Uzi Narkiss and HaRav Menachem Cohen. To his far left is the fellow paratrooper who planted the Israeli flag upon the Temple Mount - declaring Jewish sovereignty over the Mount, ending 1,897 years of exile.
The Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defence Forces, Shlomo Goren, arrives at the liberated Western Wall. To his right are General Uzi Narkiss and HaRav Menachem Cohen. To his far left is the fellow paratrooper who planted the Israeli flag upon the Temple Mount - declaring Jewish sovereignty over the Mount, ending 1,897 years of exile.

 

 

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, wounded in his face, carrying the company machine gun, at the Western Wall.
Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, wounded in his face, carrying the company machine gun, at the Western Wall.

 

 

Rabbi Shlomo Goren carrying a Sefer Torah, leads a spontaneous celebration at the Western Wall, as thousands of Jerusalemites, overwhelmed with emotion, stream toward the site where the Holy Temple stood.
Rabbi Shlomo Goren carrying a Sefer Torah, leads a spontaneous celebration at the Western Wall, as thousands of Jerusalemites, overwhelmed with emotion, stream toward the site where the Holy Temple stood.

 

 

The Sefer Torah is set down in a safe place: a niche in the Western Wall of the Temple Mount.
The Sefer Torah is set down in a safe place: a niche in the Western Wall of the Temple Mount.