Ryan says Jerusalem will ‘never be divided again’

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Wednesday that Jerusalem will “never be divided again,” remarks he made at a celebration of Israel’s reunification.
 

Mr. Ryan spoke at the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem in Washington, D.C., with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in attendance.

“After thousands of years in exile, the Jewish people are finally back home. Home in the land of their ancestors, home in the land that so many have died fighting to defend, and home in their eternal united capital of Jerusalem never to be divided again,” Mr. Ryan said.

He also said that were it not for Jerusalem, the country of Israel would not exist.

“Thousands of people have died over thousands of years fighting in and for this city, but were it not for Jerusalem, the Israel we know today would simply not exist,” the speaker said.

The reunification of Jerusalem happened in 1967 after nearly two decades of division between the Old City and East Jerusalem, and West Jerusalem. The city was reunified after the Six Day War.