The short answer as to Why? is to demonstrate to the world the longing for full Israeli sovereignty in all parts of Jerusalem, as well as in all parts of the Land of Israel.  The walk has become a tradition that expresses national pride, inspiration and aspiration for Israeli sovereignty and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple.

Yehudit Kadsover, a co-leader of Women in Green, puts it this way.  “Our nation wants victory. Our nation wants sovereignty [over Judea and Samaria]. Then the world will appreciate us as they did after the Six Day War, after Entebbe, and after blowing up the Iraqi nuclear reactor,” Katzover said to a resounding round of applause from the crowd.”  Nadia Matar, the other co-leader, says, “The only true and lasting solution is sovereignty,” and calling upon Israeli leaders to take the strength of its people “Not only on the Temple Mount, but for Samaria and Judea, and for the Jordan Valley, through sovereignty.”

For 21 years now, Women in Green have upheld the tradition of the Walk Around the Walls of the Old City on the evening of Tisha b’Av.  Hundreds of participants have come annually from throughout the world and the Land, together with leading public figures and rabbis.

This year of 2015 CE,  5775, the walk, as usual, in Independence Park in the heart of Jerusalem, so that hundreds of participants were able to join from all areas of the Land, for a public reading of the Scroll of Lamentations.  Immediately afterward, the walk itself began, and proceeded via the New Gate, Damascus Gate, Herod’s Gate and the Lion’s Gate, where the participants gathered to hear speeches by the public figures who accompanied the walk.  MK Rabbi Eli ben Dahan, MK Bezalel Smotrich, Prof. Arye Eldad, Rabbi Yosef Mendelevitch and Arye Klein participated.

In past years, certain elements within the Jerusalem Police tried to divert the route of the walk from certain locations, and they have even tried to have the walk cancelled.  Actually, all of the previous walks ended without any confrontations at all.  This year the police refrained from any such attempts.  Women in Green are pleased with this and see it as a testimony to the power of this great tradition to bring about changes even among the top ranks of the police.

Especially during this period, when radical Muslim factors have been inflaming passions and have been fighting against a Jewish presence in eastern Jerusalem, carrying out attacks and attempting to carry out attacks against the capital, especially now, a massive Jewish presence in the walk is important, which expresses the longing for full Israeli sovereignty in all parts of Jerusalem, as well as in all parts of the Land of Israel.  The walk, which was initiated 21 years ago with a few hundred participants, has gained momentum and strength over the years.  Thousands of participants now gather from every part of the Land, and even from abroad, as well as many public figures, and it has become a tradition that expresses national pride and aspiration for Israeli sovereignty and the rebuilding of the Holy Temple.