JERUSALEM,
June 7 -- Israeli troops wept and prayed today at the foot
of the Wailing
Wall -- the last remnant of Solomon's
Second Temple and the object of pilgrimage by Jews through
the centuries.
In battle dress and still carrying their weapons, they gathered
at the base of the sand-colored wall and sang Hallel,
a series of prayers reserved for occasions of great joy.
They were repeating a tradition that goes back 2,000 years
but has been denied Israeli Jews since 1948, when the first
of three wars with Arabs ended in this area. . . .
The Israelis, trembling with emotion, bowed vigorously from
the waist as they chanted psalms in a lusty chorus. Most
had their submachine guns slung over their shoulders and
several held bazookas as they prayed.
Among the leaders to pray at the wall was Maj. Gen. Moshe
Dayan, the new Defense Minister. He told the troops:
"We
have returned to the holiest of our holy places, never to
depart from it again."
