The three famous paratroopers featured in the iconic photo immediately following the capture of Jerusalem’s Old City and the Western Wall in 1967 joined American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad) in Washington, DC, for a special Shabbaton.
The program was packed to capacity and reservations had to close early, and davening needed to be held on another floor instead of the floor of TheSHUL.
Those who arrived before Shabbos got to take photos with them, including the student board of Chabad GW.
They spent the incredible Shabbos with about 200 guests, mostly Young Professionals, students and interns from across the US who are in Washington, DC for the summer. South African Jewish singing sensation Choni G(oldman) of Capetown punctuated the program with uplifting singing and inspiring davening tunes throughout Shabbos. The Shabbaton was organized by Rabbi Menachem Shemtov, who directs the YP Chabad -Washington program. The paratroopers movingly recounted their experiences capturing the Kotel during the miraculous days of ’67. People stayed until way past midnight on Friday asking them all types of questions, and the intergenerational exchange was literally amazing. The paratroopers commented repeatedly how their previous visits in the US had been with relatively older crowds, and seeing the excitement in a younger generation of Jews gave them real strength.
Accompanying them was Mr. Ari Dallas, Mid-Atlantic Exec. Director of FIDF (Friends of the Israel Defense Forces), who co-sponsored their visit with American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad).
After Havdalah, they made a special presentation of an autographed limited edition photo book published by FIDF in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Six Day War, and took some more photos before departing. They will return to Israel on Sunday (after one more program in Fairfax, VA).
