In a message to the three co-chairmen of the Great Pilgrimage to Jerusalem–Rabbi Seymour J. Cohen of Chicago, Rabbi Arthur J. Lelyveld of Cleveland, and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein of New York–Premier Menachem Begin of Israel hailed the event and urged American Jewry to respond to its call. Referring to Jerusalem not only as the capital of Israel but as “the heart of the whole Jewish people,” he declared: “Jerusalem, the united and indivisible city, is ours forever.”
The Pilgrimage in which over 100 American Jewish spiritual leaders representing all branches of Judaism will “go up” to Jerusalem in November, each traveling with at least a minyan of Jews, is designed as a demonstration of American Jewish support for an undivided Jewish Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the spiritual center of the Jewish people everywhere.
The three co-chairmen of the Pilgrimage expressed satisfaction with the Premier’s message and pledged their efforts “to mount a campaign of education and information so that the American people will get a better understanding of the meaning of Jerusalem in Jewish life, history, faith and tradition.” They announced that the three-day program in Israel will consist of unique programming designed to implement the above goals. Among the events will be special prayers and ceremonies, a march through the streets to the Western Wall and a reception tendered by President Yitzhak Navon.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
