a nation that is willing to sacrifice its heart will only convince its
enemies that it lacks the willpower to fight for anything.

PM Netanyahu's Speech at the Ceremony Marking the 45th Anniversary of the
Unification of Jerusalem at Ammunition Hill
Translation
20/05/2012

Just days ago, I visited the Altneu Synagogue in Prague, the Maharal's
[Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel] synagogue. Three months ago, I visited the
Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam. These are two of the most remarkable
synagogues in the world. One has been serving the Jewish community of the
Czech Republic for nearly 800 years. The second has served the Jewish
community of Holland for 350 years. One is Ashkenazi, the other Sepharadic.
One is small and intimate. The other is large and magnificent.

But what connects them is what connects every synagogue around the world.
When Jews pray in Prague or in Amsterdam, in New York or in Moscow, in
Mexico City or in Hong Kong, in Haifa or in Beer Sheva, the face the same
direction our people have faced for thousands of years. They face
Jerusalem.

They face the place that has always been the center of our national and
spiritual life, the place that reminds us of our glorious past and serves as
the focus of our hopes for the future. And we will not turn our backs on
those who have faced Jerusalem for generations. We will preserve Jerusalem
because an Israel without Jerusalem is like a body without a heart. It was
on this hill, 45 years ago, that the heart that unites our people began to
beat again with full strength; and our heart will never be divided again.

There are people who believe that if we just divide Jerusalem, which means
eventually conceding the Temple Mount – they believe we will have peace.
They believe that, but they are wrong. I am doubtful, to put it mildly,
that if we grant other forces control over that square above the Temple
Mount, we won't see the situation deteriorate so quickly that will devolve
into a religious and sectarian war. I also know that this is the lesson of
the ages – that only under Israeli rule, under Israeli sovereignty – access
and freedom of religion and freedom of worship for all religions has been
and will continue to be ensured. Only under Israel. Only under Israel will
the quiet be maintained; only under Israel will peace between the religions
be maintained.

Sustainable peace is made with strong nations, and an Israel without a
unified Jerusalem will be like a body with a weak heart. I want to say
something else: a nation that is willing to sacrifice its heart will only
convince its enemies that it lacks the willpower to fight for anything.

Forty-five years ago, this place saw our people's determination and the iron
will of our fighters. They fought like lions in these trenches, against
wave after wave of machine gun and heavy fire. They fought like lions, but
more than that, they fought for Jerusalem and they won.

During that same fierce battle, 36 of our best men perished – and in all of
Jerusalem, 182 IDF fighters died, and Jewish history changed forever. A
city divided became whole – and it will remain so.

Our generation has been granted a great privilege: we are witnesses to the
fulfillment of the words of the prophets. We saw the resurrection of Zion;
we saw the restoration of the sovereignty of the people of Israel here in
the Land of Israel; we saw the ingathering of the exiles; and we saw the
unification and rebuilding of Jerusalem. Our generation also bears the
tremendous responsibility of ensuring that we safeguard this transformation
for future generations.

The prophet Isaiah said: "Wake, wake! Arise, O Jerusalem." Well, Jerusalem
has arisen. After centuries of repression and intolerance by other faiths,
Jerusalem has arisen and been unified.

I remember the day when Motta Gur said that the Temple Mount was in our
possession. Whose heart did not tremble? Who did not think then about
David and Solomon, about Isaiah and Jeremiah, about the prophesies of hope
and the lamentations of destruction? Who did not feel the prayer of
generations that beats within us? I felt it and so did you.

And with this great power, we ushered in a transformation here that could
not be imagined. What was less than a century ago a forgotten, impoverished
and neglected backwater has now become a bustling, vibrant, developed and
advanced metropolis, the greatest requisite of Israel – and the united
capital of our nation.

Jerusalem is where our past has been uncovered and our future has been
built, the place where our unparalleled spiritual treasures reside, a place
of world-renowned universities and museums, a place where unprecedented
numbers are studying our heritage and where the genius of our people is
expanding the limits of science, medicine, technology, the material sciences
and the life sciences, and many other sciences.

For 45 years, we have built and developed Jerusalem – North and South, East
and West. We will continue to build Jerusalem.

We will continue to develop our capital and we will continue to ensure that
its golden light continues to light the future of our people and shine a
light across the world – the light of Jerusalem.