If I forget you, O Jerusalem

This post is dedicated in memory of Shlomo ben Aryeh Zalman z"l. May it be an aliyah                                                               for his neshama.

Nineteen years after the establishment of the State of Israel, the leaders of the Arab world threatened war against the Jews of Israel, and concentrated massive forces to Israel's north, east and south (to the west is the Mediterranean). In addition, a blockade by Egypt of the Straits of Tiran prevented Israel from using the port of Eilat - and the blockade was clearly an act of war by all international standards. Given no choice, the Israel Defense Forces had to engage in a preemptive war on all three fronts, so as to break this noose that was threatening to strangle the country. With the help of G-d, the Israeli army was able to destroy almost entirely the enemy concentrations on all three fronts, and in a matter of six days won decisive victories in the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights, and Judea and Samaria. The pinnacle of this victory was the capture, on 28 Iyar, of the Old City of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the Temple Mount and Western Wall to the Jews.

There is a special bond between Jerusalem and the Jewish people that can never be broken. Every year after sounding the shofar (ram's horn) on conclusion of Rosh HaShana each congregation recites aloud and in unison "Next year in Jerusalem."