Hundreds of thousands of Jews attended prayer services in synagogues in Israel and fasted on the Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement. According to polls held in previous years, the proportion of Israeli Jews who fast on Yom Kippur is between 65% and 75%.
For the less religiously observant Israelis, the day is one spent with the family and with books, on which there is no television or internet, and no traffic on the streets except for children on bicycles.
Preparations are now beginning for the Sukkot holiday, which begins Wednesday evening. The coming days will see thousands of sukkot – improvised huts with palm fronds and other leafy branches as roofing – being erected from Eilat to the northern tip of the Golan, throughout the Promised Land.
The Tzohar Rabbis organization conducted about 250 prayer quorums on Yom Kippur, with the participation of over 40,000 people.