Judaica / Zionism - a medal which is the first numismatic-historical expression symbolizing the liberation of ...

Judaica / Zionism - a medal which is the first numismatic-historical expression symbolizing the liberation of Jerusalem in the Six Day War - 1967

The "Jerusalem of Gold" medal is the first numismatic-historical expression to symbolize the liberation of Jerusalem in the Six Day War. The medal has gained unprecedented publicity and distribution in Israel and many countries around the world. Due to high demand, people lined up to sign up and book. The medal was designed and issued by Avraham Elisha and began with copper and bronze with a diameter of 60 mm.

Elisha was inspired by a dramatic headline he read in the newspaper, a headline that described the soldiers going into battle and risking their lives for the liberation of Jerusalem - satisfying their commanders:

"Please swear to us that Jerusalem will never be returned to foreigners."

The headline moved Avraham Elisha, who saw in it a picture of life that must not be forgotten and that only in moments of grace can we witness its shoulder. He decided to commemorate her with a medal so that it would seep into the collective and historical memory.

The Six Day War ended on 10.6.67. And just ten days after the end of the war - at the "Independence Festival" produced by Elisha at the "Shavit" cinema in Haifa - the medal was launched for the first time in a festive manner in public.

The phrase "Jerusalem of gold" was the name of a jewel in the pattern of Jerusalem in which the heads of the brides were adorned and which R. Akiva said to his beloved wife Rachel out of his poverty: "I wish I could give you a Jerusalem of gold."

From a design-artistic point of view, Elisha concentrated on translating the sensitivity charged by the sounds of the swearing words from the phonetic dimension to the visual-symbolic dimension. The concept of swearing that has the passion of the vow and the tiara that hovers and forbids as a hoop, as a closing ring, in the examination and you will leave me forever (Hosea 2:21). Thus the swearing words of the liberators before the battle appear in a round "ring" - bearing the engagement archive and obliging from it - which closes around Jerusalem in Hebrew and English - a simple and catchy design. By the way, the medal was also called the "Swearing Medal".

For the first time the medal was issued as carrying only one side. When Elisha informed Teddy Kollek, the new mayor of Jerusalem, that he was about to produce bilaterally, Teddy Kollek begged him to leave it unchanged so that he, as mayor of Jerusalem, could engrave dedications to the many supporters and donors from the world communities in those days full of euphoria.

The medal has gained worldwide coverage and appears on many sites on the Internet, unfortunately without specifying the name of the copyright holder.

Source: Avraham Elisha, Daaton website