This year’s Jerusalem Day celebrations revealed something impossible to ignore about modern Israeli society and politics.

As tens of thousands marched through the streets of Jerusalem during the annual Flag Dance procession toward the Western Wall, the images across Israeli media looked remarkably similar: young Jewish Israelis wrapped in blue and white flags, dancing and singing patriotic songs, many of them religious Zionists wearing knitted kippahs.

The atmosphere was emotional and deeply connected to Jewish history and identity.

But one thing stood out immediately.

Where was everyone else?

Where was Israel’s secular youth?

Where were the young people from Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Haifa, and the secular centers of the country? Jerusalem is their capital too. Soldiers from every background fought and died for the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967. Yet today, Jerusalem Day increasingly feels identified with only one sector of Israeli society.

Over time, Jerusalem Day has evolved from a broad national celebration into something strongly associated with the religious Zionist movement and the nationalist........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)