This Is Israel - Jersusalem

hello this is Eddie caner I'd like to talk to you about the new democracy of Israel Israel may be far away in space but we are very close together I might say right next door in spirit in the Devotion to human decency and freedom you see it is because so many Americans admire this Plucky little country and its people that we want to help establish Israel on a firm footing and that is why I'm happy to join in endorsing National Action day for Israel because action for Israel really means action for democracy thank [Music] you there's no place in the world quite like this stretch of Earth 4,000 years of History circles over it like a wild bird these Hills have heard the harp of David the battlecry of the mccabes [Music] in this Valley they quarried the stone for Solomon's Temple along this way came the warrior Samson and the Prophet Jeremiah and Cleopatra of Egypt the name is written in an ancient tongue jeruselam the city of Peace you find it mentioned in the Book of Genesis you find it written down on cracked and Faded Papyrus dug up in the tombs of Egypt on maps of the Middle Ages this city was marked as the center of the world and for Millions today it still is Jerusalem called by by Isaiah Daughter of Zion called by Caesar his princess among the provinces a city where the ancient past walks with its arm flung around the shoulder of the 20th century where crossing a street is a leap over Generations where turning a corner is a journey between continents [Music] it was from here 3,000 years ago that King David governed the Jewish nation and it is here that the state of Israel has once again set up its capital carrying on the tradition of the Hebrew Patriarchs who gave to the world the beginnings of democracy the first Declaration of Independence rising from the roots of Leviticus Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof this has always been the spiritual home of the Jewish people scattered across the face of the Earth they turned their eyes to this place and tried to to shape their lives according to the words spoken here by the prophet Micah it ha been told thee oh man what is good only to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy [Music] Lord a sacred city is well for Muslims and for Christians where the air is alive with the bronze bells of churches on the southern rim of the city rises Mount Zion beloved by the followers of all three religions sight of the tomb of David and of the Last Supper the sound of hymns mingles with the clatter of traffic along King David Avenue for the New Jerusalem that is risen out of the rock of the past is a bright modern city [Music] a city of small businessmen and skilled Craftsmen a city of Industry factories turning out shoes and cigarettes pencils and antibiotics Ceramics and cotton Goods bricks and [Music] glassware a city in Seven League Boots striding out to meet the future and at every stride new suburbs springing up on the surrounding Hills a city with its coat off and its sleeves rolled up working to make room for a running River of new [Music] citizens a high tide of humanity drawn from the ends of the Earth a school teacher from Budapest a shop girl from London an engineer from Warsaw a truck driver from Baghdad a social worker from Montreal a silver smith from Bombay a chemist from Cape Town a bacteriologist from Brooklyn they have come to this city from four continents across seven seas and too many rivers to remember listen closely on any street corner and you'll hear the accents of 20 tongues Romanian and Arabic French and Italian Swedish and Spanish as well as ancient Aramaic not to mention dialects from the hills of Kurdistan and the yemenites whose speech is spiced with an Old Testament flavor the words of a street vendor to a customer carrying a clear echo of the song of songs does this find favor in your [Music] eyes for one of the threads that weaves this tapestry together is the common tongue Hebrew it was here little more than 7 years ago that the scholar eleazer Ben Yehuda labored on the first Hebrew dictionary bringing the ancient words life and shaping them to meet the needs of a Modern Nation translations of Shakespeare and textbooks on constitutional law international news reports and announcements of the latest football scores lectures on scientific farming and chemical engineering in the stone garden that is Jerusalem the most precious tree was always the tree of wisdom blossoming now in the city's schools and libraries in the seminaries and the medical colleges in the Hebrew University and the betsalel museum with its collection of medieval manuscripts and modern paintings in the art schools and music [Music] conservatories a Restless [Music] metropolis and yet beneath it all Jerusalem is still the Sabbath [Music] City on Friday at the exact hour of Sundown a Serene air of quiet descends upon the city then Jerusalem ceases in its labor and turns its face to the [Music] [Applause] Lord it becomes once more the place where Isaiah its poet laurat dreamed his lovely vision they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their Spears into pruning hooks Nations shall not lift up sword against Nation neither shall they learn War anymore in the Gathering Twilight the city rests quietly upon its Hills this place that is a symbol of Hope to the world Jerusalem the Home of Peace oh