There were 11 of us at dinner including the husband's mother, a sabra. The grandmother told of her reaction to the winning of old Jerusalem from Jordan. She said that after being banned from the Old City for 19 years, she went to the Jaffa Gate and recited the words from Psalm 122: "Our feet are standing within thy gates, O Jerusalem." That was as much as she quoted, but the psalm continues: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper that love thee."

The encounter stirred me then and does so more now when the Arabs are trying to reclaim the parts of Jerusalem that passed to Israel in 1967. I hope that the Israelis stand fast and never give it up.