Tearing Garments Today for the Ruined Cities of Judah and Jerusalem

Is there an obligation today to tear one's garments upon seeing the ruined cities of Judah and Jerusalem?

According to the basic law, one must tear their garments for the ruined cities of Judah and the Old City of Jerusalem. However, if someone is lenient, one should not protest against them. See Azmera Leshimcha, issue 176.

It is stated in the Gemara, Tractate Moed Katan, page 26a: "Rabbi Chelbo said in the name of Ulla Bira'ah, who said in the name of Rabbi Elazar: One who sees the cities of Judah in their destruction says: 'Your holy cities have become a wilderness,' and tears his garment. Upon seeing Jerusalem in its destruction, he says: 'Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation,' and tears his garment. Upon seeing the Temple in its destruction, he says: 'Our holy and glorious house, where our fathers praised You, has been burned with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid waste,' and tears his garment. He tears for the Temple and adds for Jerusalem. And it is asked: 'Whether one hears or sees, as soon as he reaches Tzofim, he tears, and tears separately for the Temple and separately for Jerusalem!' - It is not difficult: this is when he encounters the Temple first, this is when he encounters Jerusalem first. And the Beit Yosef wrote in Orach Chaim, Siman 561: "And these ruined cities of Judah mentioned, are those that are desolate and have no settlement at all, but if they have settlement, even if they are in the hands of non-Jews, it would seem that one does not need to tear. And it is possible that if they are in the hands of non-Jews, even if they have settlement, it is called destruction. And this is the main opinion. And this is the opinion of the Beit Yosef, that if they are settled by Jews, who are not ruled by non-Jews, there is no need to tear at all. And so wrote the Mishnah Berurah, Siman 561, s"k 2: "Even if Jews live there, since the Ishmaelites rule over them, it is called destruction." Therefore, there are poskim who wrote that there is no need to tear for the cities of Judah, since it is not known exactly where the ancient settlements were, and moreover, there are poskim who wrote that one must tear specifically for the cities of Judah because they are the cities of the kingdom, (see and several other reasons were given for why it is not customary to tear, and this is not the place for discussion. And regarding Jerusalem, there are those who are stringent to tear upon entering the Old City of Jerusalem, but in practice, the world is lenient in this, and perhaps their reasoning is as written in the Birkei Yosef (brought in Shaarei Teshuva, Siman 561) that the residents of Jerusalem do not need to tear for the place of the Temple, even if they have not seen Jerusalem for 30 days. And some explain his words that since they easily see the place of the Temple, they do not feel the sorrow of the destruction so much, and therefore in our days in Jerusalem, they do not feel the sorrow of the destruction, and furthermore, there are those who wrote that Jerusalem is not in its destruction. And if one goes to the Western Wall after the Old City of Jerusalem, the poskim wrote that the tearing done at the Western Wall also fulfills the obligation of tearing for Jerusalem, and what is written to tear twice is not mandatory.