Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Monday formally opened the restored Pilgrimage Road in Jerusalem’s City of David, the ancient thoroughfare once used by Jewish worshipers ascending to the Temple Mount during the Second Temple era.
The restored thoroughfare, running nearly 650 yards from the Pool of Siloam to the foot of the Temple Mount, was walked by pilgrims two millennia ago as they ascended toward the Temple Mount. After decades of excavation, the road is now open end-to-end for the first time in 2,000 years.
“This is our city. It is forever our city. It will never be divided again, and there will be no Palestinian state,” Netanyahu declared at the ceremony, according to remarks released by his office. He warned that unilateral efforts to impose a Palestinian state would be met with “unilateral action” by Israel.
Secretary Rubio, on his first official visit to Israel since assuming office, called the road “an enduring cultural and historical bond” between Jerusalem and the United States. “It was here that God fulfilled His promise to His people. It was here that the lessons that formed the foundations of our laws, and the principles upon which we decide right from wrong, were built,” he said. “All the civilizations that conquered this city are gone. But one people remain. They have returned.”
Former Arkansas governor and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor, cited Psalm 137: “If I forget you, O Yerushalayim, may my right hand forget its skill.” He told the crowd, “The stones absolutely and 100% validate that the Jewish people not only belong here now, but they have belonged here for 4,000 years since the time God said to Abraham: ‘This is yours.’ Tonight the rest of the world comes to say: welcome home.”
The ceremony drew top Israeli officials, including Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, as well as Jerusalem’s envoy to Washington, Yechiel Leiter. Netanyahu hailed Rubio’s visit as “a powerful affirmation of a powerful bond” between Israel and the United States, vowing that Jerusalem and Washington would continue to defend their “common Judeo-Christian civilization.”
The City of David archaeological park, located in the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem, has long been a focal point of both historical excavation and political controversy. In 2020, the U.S. recognized the City of David as an American Heritage Site, underscoring its role in shaping Judeo-Christian values that inspired America’s Founding Fathers. Argentina followed suit this year under President Javier Milei, declaring it an Argentinian Heritage Site.
Rubio’s visit also carried symbolic weight in America’s 250th anniversary year. “The United States was founded on a powerful principle–that our rights come from our Creator,” Rubio said. “To stand here on the very road where pilgrims once sought closeness to the Creator is a humbling experience.”
Netanyahu closed the ceremony with a message to Israel’s critics: “This is our city, Mr. Erdogan. It is not your city. It is our city. It will always be our city. It will not be divided again. Am Yisrael Chai–Jerusalem lives in our hearts.”
The reopening of the Pilgrimage Road is being hailed as both an archaeological triumph and a symbolic milestone in the enduring bond between Israel and its allies.
