My Jerusalem: 'It was Yom Yerushalayim...'

One readers experience of an Israeli National holiday while living in Jerusalem.

Israeli flags (photo credit: ELIZABETH APPELBAUM)
Israeli flags
(photo credit: ELIZABETH APPELBAUM)
The city was crowded, the fullest I've ever seen it. The chatter was loud and excited; there was hardly any room to breathe. All around us were people waving their blue and white flags with pride. It was Yom Yerushalayim.
My friends and I linked arms and carried our flags of the country that had been our home for the past year while learning at a seminary. We walked together through the giant crowd that was marching to the Kotel via the Arab Quarter. One of the things you are told about Israel is that everyone is family. I felt it this day as I marched with my brothers and sisters to the Kotel to celebrate with G-d.
I had never seen so many people at the Kotel before. There were so many people that it was impossible to get anywhere near the Wall. Instead, my friends and I danced in a large circle, holding hands with those we knew and those we had met that day.
Everyone was smiling, everyone was happy, everyone was there for everyone else. It was incredible seeing so many Jews together, putting aside their differences to celebrate our Holy Land and it was on this day that I really felt like I was a part of something special, something holy.
Once it started to get late, my friends and I headed back to the Tachana Merkazit (Central Bus Station). We still had our flags and we were holding them up as high as we could and waving them, continuing the spirit of the day and keeping the memory forever.
This is my Jerusalem.
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