Jerusalem of Gold Inspires Islamic Jihad

Islamic Jihad leader motivates religious leaders in Tehran by singing a famous Jerusalem song in Hebrew. He claims that in order to conquer Israel, Muslims must love Jerusalem like the Jews. 

In March 2014 close to 100 rockets were fired into southern Israel by a cabal of terrorist groups led by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Ramadan Shalah has headed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for almost 20 years. He is wanted by the FBI for bombings, murders, extortions, and money laundering. An American court has indicted him on 53 counts of terrorism.

The last thing you would expect from an Islamic Jihad terrorist would be a rendition of Naomi Shemer’s Jerusalem of Gold before hundreds of Mullahs in the capital of Iran.

According to Israel’s Army Radio, Shalah quoted the famed Jerusalem song in Arabic and Hebrew: “Jerusalem of gold. Jerusalem of Bronze. Jerusalem of light.”

“For Jerusalem to be ours, the Muslims must love it as the Jews do. Unfortunately, many Muslims do not see just how important Jerusalem is to Islam and to our culture,” laments Shalah.

“Learn from the Jews…. They love Jerusalem not just as a military matter, but as a cultural one,” he declares.

Jerusalem of Gold a Part of Every Israeli

“Every Israeli child and every accursed Israeli soldier says this song in their heart,”  the Islamic Jihad leader states.

This Jerusalem song has significant historical meaning to the people of Israel. Written by the late Naomi Shemer, dubbed Israel’s “first lady of song and poetry,” it was an instant hit when introduced at a music festival on May 15, 1967. As Shemer was singing, armies from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq were mobilizing at Israel’s borders in an attempt to wipe out the Jewish nation. In the buildup to the Six Day War, she sang Jerusalem of Gold to troops in the field. On June 7, Israel soldiers could be heard singing the lyrics as they reunited the city.

The original version had only three stanzas. An additional verse was added after Israel liberated the Old City.

Can Islamic Jihad Replicate Jewish Love for Jerusalem?

Shalah maintains the fight for Jerusalem will be won by whichever side loves the city more.

Muslims face Mecca when praying; Jews face Jerusalem. A Muslim is commanded to make pilgrimage to Mecca once in his lifetime; A Jew is commanded to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year. Jerusalem is mentioned several hundred times in the Jewish Bible and not once in the Koran. For thousands of years every single prayer service conducted by Jews the world over has included a plea to return to Jerusalem.

For 450 years, Jerusalem was considered a minor city by its Ottoman, British, and Jordanian rulers. In 1948 Jerusalem had a population of 84,000. Today the city has over 800,000 residents.

Over the past half century, Jerusalem has enjoyed tremendous growth under sovereignty of the Jewish state.

Author: David Fink, contributor, United with Israel
Date: Mar. 24, 2014