June 1967 - The decision to capture the Old City

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In the Knesset cellar, on the night between the 5th and 6th of June, 1967; as the paratroopers were about to begin the bloody battle for Ammunition Hill, the Israeli government met to decide: should we enter the Old City or not? There was much to lose: world opinion might turn against the Jews if damage was caused to the holy sites.... And time was running out....

Rabbi Noam Himelstein studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion and served in the Tanks Corps of the IDF. He has taught in yeshiva high schools, post-high school women’s seminaries, and headed the Torah MiTzion Kollel in Melbourne, Australia. He currently teaches at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem, and lives with his wife and six children in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion.