Jerusalem Day Pilot in Liberal Local Authorities

Jerusalem Day is one of the most significant national dates on Israel’s calendar. Originally intended to commemorate the reunification of the city, it has, over time, become identified primarily with Religious Zionism. As a result, many within Israel’s liberal public experience the day with a sense of distance, indifference, or even alienation, due to its perceived political and sectoral framing. Yet Jerusalem Day holds profound potential. It offers a unique opportunity to reclaim Jerusalem as a shared civic, cultural, historical, and democratic space. For secular and traditional audiences, it can serve as a gateway to engaging with Jewish culture as a broad national asset—approaching Jewish history, texts, and traditions through a pluralistic lens, while exploring Jerusalem’s role as the seat of Israel’s democratic institutions and rule of law. Reimagined in this way, Jerusalem Day can become a moment that celebrates the city’s human and cultural diversity and invites every Israeli to find a personal connection to Jerusalem through creativity, freedom, and belonging. The Forum of Liberal Mayors seeks to encourage local authorities to shape Jerusalem Day in this spirit. We therefore propose a pilot program, in partnership with the Maimonides Fund and the Russell Berrie Foundation, to be implemented in three member authorities of the Forum. In each authority, a selected age cohort will participate in a structured educational process centered on Jerusalem Day, culminating in a visit to Jerusalem and engagement with institutions and sites that reflect pluralistic Jewish and Israeli culture, as well as Israeli democracy.