At first glance, the photo of the rainbow over the Temple Mount is aesthetically pleasing, but a quick look at the story behind the photo brings out the deeper beauty.

Yonadav Horowitz took the photo from the balcony of his house in Kidmat Tzion, about four kilometers from the Temple Mount, on the holiday of Tu B’Shvat last week. That particular image from that particular perspective on that particular day was shared by very few people since only ten families live in Kidmat Tzion. And it is a modern-day miracle that those families live there.

The land for Kidmat Tzion was purchased about a century ago by Jewish residents of Jerusalem who wanted a more pastoral and less urban existence, nearby but outside the walls of the Old City. About 150 acres was purchased but the illegal Jordanian occupation of the area in 1948 prevented the Jews from settling on their land. During the Jordanian occupation, massive Arab construction resulted in the creation of the neighborhood of Abu Dis on what used to be empty land. Israel annexed all of Jerusalem but only about 15 acres of the land purchased by the Jews fell within this area, the rest now being considered Judea. Ateret Kohanim, an NGO workign to strengthen the Jewish nature of all of Jerusalem, worked to reestablish the existing Jewish claim to the land and ten families now live in Kidmat Tzion. 

“Seeing the rainbow, a sign of God’s covenant with all of mankind, reminded me that God does, of course, keep all of his promises,” Horowitz told Israel365 News. “That is especially true when it comes to his promises to the Jewish people, and even more so when it pertains to Jerusalem.”

Horowitz loves that he lives within walking distance of Judaism’s holiest site, though the hostile nature of Abu Dis prevents this. But the view is inspiring in a Biblical context. The view of Jerusalem nestled between two high points reminded Horowitz the verse from Deuteronomy that describes God’s special love for the domain of the tribe of Benjamin:

Of Binyamin he said: Beloved of Hashem, He rests securely beside Him; Ever does He protect him, As he rests between His shoulders. Deuteronomy 33:12