600,000-Plus Stand United With Jerusalem

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a personal letter of appreciation to United With Israel upon receiving his copy of “The Jerusalem Declaration,” a statement signed by over 500,000 people in 168 countries to support a united Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the undivided capital of the state of Israel.

UWI, the world’s largest grassroots pro-Israel movement, published the declaration in a 1,124-page hardcover book with an introduction and the hundreds of thousands of names of the signatories.

AJT Associate Publisher Kaylene Ladinsky, the founder and director of Americans United With Israel, UWI’s Atlanta-based U.S. branch, is thrilled that more than half the signers are U.S. citizens.

“This underscores the huge impact that pro-Israel Americans are making to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance. Americans who proudly stand united with Israel are making a huge difference,” Ladinsky said. “We are working hard to expand the AUWI community and significantly increase pro-Israel advocacy — not only in Atlanta, but from coast to coast.”

In a letter addressed to UWI founder Michael Gerbitz, the prime minister wrote: “Thank you for the copy of The Jerusalem Declaration. It was most gratifying to see this tangible expression of the unwavering support of more than half a million of our friends from 168 countries around the world.

“The people of Israel appreciate United with Israel’s advocacy, educational efforts and unflinching defense of the truth.”

The book was published in May, in time for the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967. The declaration has since topped 600,000 signatures.

“We are marching towards true international awareness of the underlying issue: Israel’s right to exist and the necessity of a strong and undivided Jerusalem as the foundation of the one and only Jewish homeland,” Gerbitz said.

He said the goal is 1 million signatures, “and it’s very realistic.”

UWI also has given copies of the book to Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein.

“Jerusalem is not only our history, but our destiny,” Bennett said.

Upon hearing that Arab and other Muslim-majority nations were among the 168 countries where UWI garnered signatures, Edelstein said, “I wish we could do that at the United Nations.”

“I pinch myself every day to make sure it’s real,” Barkat said about being mayor of a unified Jerusalem.

“Jerusalem is our link to the past and our conduit to a bright future,” Gerbitz said. “It is our responsibility to spread the message that Jerusalem is simply non-negotiable and indivisible, and the outpouring of support that we continue to see every day online gives me hope that we are truly making a difference.”