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“YOM YERUSHALAYIM-JERUSALEM DAY” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E855 on May 28, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
YOM YERUSHALAYIM-JERUSALEM DAY
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HON. LOIS FRANKEL
of florida
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, across South Florida, and indeed around the world, Jews are celebrating Yom Yerushalayim--Jerusalem Day. It was 47 years ago today that Israel liberated its capital city of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, allowing Jews for the first time in decades to visit Judaism's holiest site, the Western Wall.
Israel immediately abolished the discriminatory laws that had previously prevented Jews from entering the Old City and implemented safeguards to ensure Jerusalem serve as a protected place for reflection and prayer for members of all religions. According to the State Department's annual report on International Religious Freedoms,
``[Israel's] 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law safeguards the holy sites of all religious groups within the country and in Jerusalem.''
Today, Jerusalem has become more than a religious haven. It is a large and expansive city where ancient holy sites are accented by modern innovations. Over four million tourists came to Jerusalem last year alone to witness the city's beauty, enjoy the cuisine, and connect to the land.
Jerusalem has been the heart of the Jewish people for thousands of years. Even through centuries of exile, Jerusalem remained the focal point of Jewish aspiration, with Jews praying towards the direction of the Western Wall regardless of where they stand geographically in the world.
That is why Israel's founding Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion said in 1947, ``No city in the world, not even Athens or Rome, ever played as great a role in the life of a nation for so long a time, as Jerusalem has done in the life of the Jewish people.''
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