Jerusalem Day is not just a date on the Jewish calendar anymore. It is a symbol not only of Israel’s desire to prevent the re-division of its capitol, but also of the breach between the Jewish state and its closest ally the United States.

Observed today in Israel according to the Hebrew calendar, Yom Yerushalayim is the 44th anniversary of the unification of the city of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Day War. The city had been divided in 1948 when the Arab invasion to prevent the birth of a Jewish state left one part under Israel’s control and another part in the hands of Jordan, which had seized the Old City and evicted Jews from the city’s ancient Jewish Quarter. The ceasefire that ended that war created lines that are now known as the “1967 borders,” which may be forever associated with President Obama’s demand that they serve as the starting point for any future Middle East peace negotiation. read more