One of the Most Amazing Days in History - June 7, 1967 Israel Retakes the Temple Mount

On June 7, 1967, fifty-nine years ago today, Israel regained control of the Temple Mount, the site traditionally associated with the binding of Isaac and the location where Abraham was prepared to offer his son. It marked the first time in 1,897 years, since the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in AD 70, that the Jewish people had regained control of their holiest site.

This extraordinary event occurred on the third day of the Six-Day War (June 5-10, 1967). As a college sophomore at the time, I remember those events vividly.

Understanding the Significance

Babylon first conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC. In the centuries that followed, Jerusalem came under the control of the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, various Muslim empires, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, the Ottoman Turks, and finally Britain under the British Mandate.

With the exception of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) period from approximately 165 to 63 BC, the Temple Mount remained under foreign rule for more than 2,500 years. Thus, Israel's return to this sacred place in 1967 was remarkable.

The Temple Mount itself is a vast thirty-six-acre platform upon which Solomon's Temple was constructed around 900 BC. Although the Israeli forces did not anticipate that the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem would occur that day, Jordanian resistance collapsed more quickly than expected, making the recapture possible.

The Story

On the morning of June 7, a woman handed an Israeli flag to a young Israeli Defense Forces soldier. Unsure of what to do with it, he placed it in his backpack.

When Israeli paratroopers reached the Temple Mount, the soldier remembered the flag, and it was raised over the site. It was an emotional and historic moment, one that many regard as one of the most significant events in modern Jewish history.

However, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, observing from a distance, ordered the flag removed. Soon afterward, administrative control of the Temple Mount was returned to the Islamic Waqf under Jordanian supervision. That was one of the worst decisions ever made, militarily, historically and biblically. It was a missed opportunity to establish complete Israeli sovereignty over the site.

(Photo credits: The Temple Institute)

Ownership and Historical Claims

This raises an important question: To whom does the Temple Mount belong?

Prior to Israel's conquest of Jerusalem under King David around 1000 BC, the area was inhabited by the Jebusites. David captured the city and established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. According to the biblical account, he also purchased the threshing floor that later became the location of the Temple.

Islam arose approximately sixteen centuries later, in the seventh century AD. Therefore, from a chronological perspective, Judaism's connection to Jerusalem predates Islam by many centuries.

Jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible, including approximately 660 references in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and 146 references in the New Testament. Terms such as Zion also refer to Jerusalem.

By contrast, Jerusalem is not mentioned by name in the Quran. Islamic tradition associates the city with Muhammad's Night Journey, although the text itself does not explicitly name Jerusalem.

For these reasons, the Jewish claim to the Temple Mount rests upon a unique historical, biblical, and continuous connection extending back three millennia.

Conclusion

The events of June 7, 1967, were historic. For many believers, they represented not only a remarkable military victory but also the fulfillment of biblical promises concerning the restoration of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland.

Whatever one's perspective on modern politics, the return of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount to Jewish hands remains one of the most extraordinary and consequential events of the twentieth century.

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