One of the things I enjoy the most about taking people on tours for Ateret Cohanim is their response when they see just how many Jews live throughout the Old City. In most other tours the emphasis on Jerusalem having four quarters is so engrained in the visitor’s psyche that it really takes an entire tour throughout the entirety of the Old City to change perceptions.

The fact is, the quarter system was an intentional dividing of Jerusalem carried out by the British. It is no surprise that the Arab pogroms of the first half of the 20th Century happened after the British effectively gave them an entire quarter in the Old City. After that, the Arab residents proceeded to drive out the indigenous Jews from within their midst.

Our return to Jerusalem in 1967 was the beginning of a full return which had been increasing throughout the 1800s and early 1900s until the British enabled Arab gangs to forcefully halt it. Since the Six Day War, the nation of Israel has been returning and reclaiming stolen properties. This return is continuing and increasing all the time, yet until the four quarters are no longer official, the Jewish people’s return is not complete.

We are still in the month of Tishrei. What better time for redeeming our land and capital than now – be a part of the Redemption.