Majority of Israelis to Fast On Yom Kippur

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daveningAt about 5 P.M. today silence will fall on Israel, as the Yom Kippur fast begins. Air traffic to and from Israel will halt from 1 P.M. today to about 9:30 P.M. tomorrow and the border crossings to Jordan and Gaza will close down. The weather forecast bodes well for fasters, with comfortable temperatures.

Public opinion surveys over the past few years show most Jews in Israel observe Yom Kippur. A survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics found 26 percent of Israeli Jews who describe themselves as “secular” or “not religious” fast on Yom Kippur and 24 percent of them have attended prayers at a shul.

A number of organizations will be holding mass prayers, intended for people who do not frequent shuls synagogues on a regular basis, as part of a custom developed in the past years.

United Hatzalah of Israel, an independent non-profit fully volunteer Emergency Medical Services (EMS ) Organization, has asked shul managers to make sure a telephone is handy in case of emergency and that a rescue personnel member is close by or among the mispalelim.

Israel’s airspace will close to traffic at 1 P.M. today. Yom Kippur is the only day of the year in which air traffic to and from Israel halts completely. Ben Gurion Airport will reopen for international flights’ landings tomorrow at 9:30 P.M. and take offs at 10:30 P.M.

{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}


1 COMMENT

  1. Some jews would like to go to shul but have been ostracized and told never to return by some communities. Just because they did not daven does not mean they are not pursuing teshuvah.

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