Today, we in the American Jewish community are observing two holy days.

Here in the United States, today is Memorial Day. Sadly, the fact that Memorial Day marks “the unofficial beginning of summer” has taken precedence over the reason for the establishment of the holiday.

Whatever our political and philosophical leanings may be, every one of us in this country owes a debt of gratitude and appreciation to those who gave their lives in military service to this country. Our continued existence as a free and democratic nation (God willing, we will continue to always be such) is due to the sacrifices made by American men and women in the many conflicts which have taken place here and throughout the world.

As one who never served in the military, I can not even imagine the courage that such service requires. Of course, we would be a much better world if it was not necessary. I dream of and pray for a day when no one, in any nation, should need to take up arms. But, those days have not come yet and while we all must continue to work for such a day, we must honor and pay tribute to those who, by their actions, ensured our continued safety as a nation.

May the memory of our brave soldiers be for a blessing. May we honor their memory with our actions and our prayers.

Today is also a special day on the Jewish calendar. It is Jerusalem Day, the anniversary of Israel’s conquest of the Old City of Jerusalem during the 6 day war in 1967. It is a day of celebration in the sense that, in contrast to the previous decades, Jews were now able to return to the holy sites in the Old City, including the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall.

I had the privilege to live in Jerusalem for an academic year in 1979-1980. During that year, as have so many, I fell in love with the city and am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to return 12 times since that year, often leading groups on tours of Israel. Every person that travelled with me could tell, I’m sure, that I viewed our days in Jerusalem as the most important part of the entire trip. Whether getting up early in the morning to lead sunrise walking tours or visiting synagogues on Shabbat or just bringing people to an overlook so that they could marvel at the beauty of the city, it was always the highlight of any experience I had in Israel.

Jerusalem has always represented a yearning for holiness and has been a place of dreams. For me, those dreams were not limited to Jews. On the contrary, the co-existence, even if at times tense, of different religious faiths in the city was an inspiration to me and hearing the sound of the davening at the kotel, the church bells from the Christian quarter and the muezzin call to prayer from the mosques always filled me with hope as Jerusalem reflected a vision of unity that represented a hope for the future.

So, I have always celebrated Jerusalem Day.

But, in recent years, that has become much more difficult for me and, I’m sure, for many others. Over the years, the public focus of Jerusalem Day has changed from being a day of hope and a celebration of holiness to a blatantly nationalistic observance with songs and chants reflecting hatred and calls for violence against Arabs in the city and beyond.

This year as in the recent past, participants in the so-called “March of the Flags” led by members of the Knesset, marched through the Arab neighborhoods of the Old City waving Israeli flags, chanting: “Death to Arabs” and other violent slogans in the face of the residents of the Moslem quarter. In addition, many went up to the Temple Mount to pray in minyanim, an act of provocation which used to be prohibited in deference to the agreement that was in effect to respect the sanctity of that area for Muslims.

This is not what Jerusalem should represent.

It is not the Jerusalem that I lived in and visited so many times and the Jerusalem that is in my heart..

But, this year it is even more painful to watch.

This year, as so many in the Israeli government (and sadly, so many Jews throughout the world) display barely any compassion or concern towards the innocent victims of the war in Gaza: the many thousands of children killed or facing starvation and so many whose homes and lives have been destroyed, these chants are even more disgusting. There is no question that the actions of Hamas on October 7 justified an Israeli military response against those who seek its destruction. But, as the months have gone on, the toll that Israel’s actions have taken on innocent residents of Gaza and on the remaining Israeli hostages is unspeakably tragic. And, seeing the pictures from Gaza and seeing the videos of the march in Jerusalem today leave me with such sadness as I consider where Israel is today.

Jerusalem Day should be a day of dreams, embracing the spirit of peace, not calling for continuing and intensifying violence and the nightmare of war and captivity.

May all people in the region find the power to continue to work for a “city of peace” in Jerusalem but for a region of peace and of life and security for all.