A few inches of snow? They manage perfectly well in Sweden. As a child i used to walk 5 miles through snow, waist deep to get to school. Come on people its just another exscuse to get a day off.

We are not accustomed to snow. We do not have snow tires/chains. Our people have no experience driving in the snow. How many people in Israel know how to deal with a skid on ice? It would be dangerous to send the children to school and more so coming home later in the day. Besides all that - most of our schools do not have effective heating systems.

Israel knows that a couple times a year they will be in for severe weather. But they don't think it's worthwhile to make changes to prepare for it each year. Just let it pass and go back to normal in a day or 2. Jerusalem knows it will get a couple days of snow each year. So there really is no excuse for not being prepared for it. And there is so little snow that it really shouldn't hinder anything with really minimal effort. However, it is snow... in Jerusalem. Why not take a day off and shut everything down. Take some nice photos of people having a snowball fight against a historic backdrop. The traditional black of the haraedim contrasted against white snow making snow angels. It is a tradition to let everything shut down and just have a snow day in Jerusalem, not matter how ridiculous it is.

Really? 5 miles thru waist-deep snow? Yeh, right.............. Next you'll be saying that you lived in a cardboard box on the side of the freeway............

Why no school? Because on a good day drivers here are crazy, and no one here know hows to drive in the snow and sleet, and do not have snow tires. We decided this morning not to send our child to school even before they told us they cancelled the school buses. Better our children be safe, even if that upsets the people who are commenting here.

Yes Mike i also lived in a cardboard but it was under the flyover bridge and if we were lucky we would get a crust of bread and half a glass of water.

Excellent! You sound like a man from Yorkshire!

We do not have the right clothing for these temperatures, it only happens once a year if it happens

at 10:30 he told me to leave...but there were no buses (i waited 40 min and walked back as none of the 4 kavim showed up) no taxis, egged didn't answer, taxis didn't answer...he drove me home - took 1.5 hours and took HIM 4 hours to return! usually 20 min. be thankful the kids weren't out there! we are NOT prepared for snow!

I'm from Norway and I totally understand why the schools close In Jerusalem on such days. I would never dream of driving on snow with summer tires on the car! You just don't gamble with children's health and lives... *Unwritten rule*

It's benefical

Why totally disrupted? Israel is simply following British tradition. Here too, 1cm of snow and the country grinds to a halt. We just like it that way. And yes, 'When I were a kid, no matter how bad the weather was, we still struggled to get to school, even it it meant carrying coal for the fire.' But this time round, it looks as it the weather weather was particularly bad.