Published by: ICEJ
City Of The Great King
“But I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel” – 2 Chronicles 6:6
This coming week, from May 25 to May 26, we commemorate Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim), marking the miraculous reunification of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War. In a war of self-defence, in which Israel was outnumbered by multiple Arab nations committed to its destruction, it emerged victorious, reclaiming its eternal capital and biblical heartland.
Before 1967, Jordan had illegally occupied East Jerusalem, along with Judea and Samaria, after capturing them in a war of aggression against Israel during its War of Independence. During this time, Jews were ethnically cleansed from these areas and denied access to holy sites. The reunification of Jerusalem in 1967 allowed Jews to once again pray at the Western Wall, fulfilling the 2000-year-old prayer, “Next Year in Jerusalem.” Israel recaptured not only what was spiritually entitled to it by God’s covenant with Abraham, but also what it was legally entitled to under the Palestine Mandate.
Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel since King David declared it over 3000 years ago. It is home to the Temple Mount, the Knesset, and is the spiritual and governmental heart of the Jewish state. Yet despite its historical, legal, and religious rights, the international community continues to challenge Israel’s right to Jerusalem, rejecting God’s covenant with the Jewish people and the location described in Psalm 48:2 as “the city of the Great King.”
In 1980, the Israeli Knesset declared the entire reunited city of Jerusalem the eternal, undivided capital of the Jewish State. In response, the Arab oil powers threatened an oil embargo of any country which still had their embassies in Jerusalem. One-by-one, all foreign embassies abandoned Jerusalem for Tel Aviv. However, ICEJ defied the trend and established its Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, in recognition of Israel’s indisputable right to the land. We are proud that ICEJ’s foundation is built on affirming the Jewish connection to Jerusalem.
Prayer Request: UN Two-State Solution Conference (June 17–20)
The victory of 1967 also extended beyond Jerusalem. Israel reclaimed Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and the Sinai Peninsula – later returning Sinai to Egypt in exchange for peace. Yet the legal status of these territories – the biblical heartland – remain hotly contested.
As opposition to Israel’s land rights intensifies, we would like to request your prayers ahead of a major upcoming event: the UN International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, scheduled for June 17–20, 2025, in New York. Given the UN’s well-established bias against Israel, we are concerned that this conference, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, is likely to promote a dangerous, imposed solution to the conflict – including recognition of Palestinian statehood – which seeks to divide Jerusalem and disregards Israel’s security concerns and legitimate legal and historical claims to the land. We urge you to pray that truth prevails, not the falsehoods that often permeate UN gatherings.
Joel 3:1–3 warns against dividing the land in a manner that harms the Jewish people: “I will gather all the nations… and I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of My people and My heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up My land.”
Let us pray that our nations will be counted among the sheep, not the goats, and that they will stand with God’s covenant and resist any division of the land rooted in bias, falsehood, or contempt for the Jewish people.
Let us pray that our nations will be counted among the sheep, not the goats, and that they will stand with GoLearn more about the implications of dividing God’s land, as well as Israel’s legal and moral claims to its biblical heartland.d’s covenant and resist any division of the land rooted in bias, falsehood, or contempt for the Jewish people.
Attacked & Destroyed by Terrorists, Rebuilt with Love by Christians
STAY INFORMED
Be sure to watch the latest webinar for an
informative discussion on current affairs, hosted by ICEJ Senior Vice
President and Spokesman David Parsons, with special guest
Chris Mitchell, Jerusalem Bureau Chief for CBN News.
JOIN US IN PRAYER
With the constant threat of attack, the rising witness of Antisemitism globally and the devastation left behind in the lives of so many across Israel – now is the time to gather in prayer and uplift the nation of Israel.
If you would like to be part of ICEJ’s global 24/7 prayer,
click below to join the Australian prayer watch each
Tuesday 2pm-3pm or Wednesday 7am-8am (AEDT).
Blessings,
Sarah Way
ICEJ Australia National Director
