A time to forgive: Israel prepares for Yom Kippur
Come sundown, the Jewish 'Kol Nidre' prayer service will be heard in synagogues across the globe, ushering in the holiday of Yom Kippur; the holiday will end with the Neilah prayer and the blowing of the shofar; while some will take on the traditional 25-hour fast, others will spend the holiday soul-searching or with family and friends. As they do so, security forces reinforced in anticipation of any potential disruptions.
On Tuesday evening, the Jewish people will begin a 25-hour fast marking Yom Kippur, which will last until nightfall on Wednesday.
Come sundown, the Jewish 'Kol Nidre' prayer service will be heard in synagogues across the globe, ushering in the holiday of Yom Kippur. The holiday will end with the Neilah prayer and the blowing of the shofar.
On Monday, some of the leading rabbis in Israel conducted “Slihot” (the Jewish tradition of repentance) in front of the Western Wall, in preparation for the holiday.
Police have increased its presence, particularly in Jerusalem, in preparation of Yom Kippur. Border Police, reinforcement and volunteers will be dispersed throughout the country to keep the peace and allow for a calm and hopefully uneventful holiday.
As is tradition, the Jerusalem Police and municipality will set up roadblocks along the city’s main roads to prevent traffic from leaving East Jerusalem into West Jerusalem.
As is done for every holiday, the IDF will impose a general closure beginning on midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday in the West Bank and the Gaza border crossings. The closure will be lifted on Wedneday at 11:59pm, in accordance to the situation. During the closure, only humanitarian, medical and unusual cases will be allowed to cross into Israel.
Public trasport will be brought to a halt, with Israel Railways starting to taper off from 1pm until 2pm, when all its services will cease completely.
At Ben Gurion Airport, the last landing on Tuesday will take place at 1:30pm Israel time, with the last departure scheduled for 1:55pm. Some 46,000 passengers are expected to fly through Ben Gurion Airport on Tuesday morning.
Flights are due to resume on Wednesday at 10:30pm, with the first international flight slated for 11:30pm.
