“There should not be a ‘their’ Jerusalem and an ‘our’ Jerusalem,” Livni said.
“The love of Jerusalem is not only for religious people. All Jews have a prayer for Jerusalem in their heart,” she added. “Jerusalem is not just a part of our past, it’s a feeling that unites all of Israel around its capital.”
Responding to the prime minister’s claim that most MKs were too young to remember that day, Livni explained that she was nine years old during the Six Day War, and “even then we knew how momentous this day was, and were part of the collective feeling of national redemption, although we were young.”
At the same time, Livni said, “tough questions” need to be asked about Jerusalem. “What is our dream for the future? What is our collective vision? Is there a wall in the heart of the city, or is there a wall in our hearts?”
Livni said that the security barrier, which crosses through part of Jerusalem, “separates and alienates” parts of Israeli society.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin told the Knesset that “dividing Jerusalem will not solve its problems; dividing Jerusalem would mean we’re running away from finding serious and real solutions.”
“Some try to paint Jerusalem as a city of the past, without a future,” Rivlin said, “a city of minorities, a city of Arabs and haredim, a so-called city without Israelis.”
“We promised that Jerusalem would be united, but we did not fulfill our promise. We built the City of David and Ma’ale HaZeitim,” he said, “but what about Ras el-Amud and Wadi Joz?”
Rivlin recalled a shortage in schools and problems with mail delivery in east Jerusalem, saying that half of the city did not enjoy benefits as the rest of it did.
“A united Jerusalem will not be built if we do not build it as one city,” the Knesset speaker added.
In related news, a number of Jerusalem-related discussions were held in the Knesset in honor of the holiday Wednesday.
The Knesset approved an amendment to a bill, making Jerusalem a zone in which students who recently finished their IDF service would receive increased financial aid. Previously, the aid was provided to those learning in colleges and universities in Ashkelon, the West Bank, the Negev and the Galilee.
The Knesset Economics Committee held a special session on moving government offices from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in order to provide more job opportunities in the capital.
At the session, members of the Jerusalem city council argued with the Interior Ministry that the ministry should implement additional procedures in the approval process for government buildings in order to make it more difficult for government offices to build in places other than the capital.
Melanie Lidman contributed to this report.
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