Rare Snowfall Blankets Jerusalem: 10 Photos of a Divided City United by Joy

The Mountains and Hills Burst into Song as Snow Covers the Holy City

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Jerusalem has about the same latitude as Charleston, SC, or El Paso, TX, two places not exactly associated with snow. And in fact, the city rarely gets big storms. Which is why it was such a treat this week when the city woke up to find its holy sites blanketed in white and the city united in a rare spectacle.

For any of us who have spent time in Jerusalem in times of war and tension, fire and heat, the images are a reminder of the joint soil we share and the common climate we partake. And they call to mind one of the equally rare mentions of snow in the Hebrew Bible, from the Isaiah 55:

As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth…

So it will be that:

You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you.

I enjoyed seeing these photos, and hope you will, too.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images

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