Thousands Mark Tisha b’Av at Western Wall
Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM — Thousands of worshippers marked the fast of Tisha b’Av at the Western Wall.
Tisha b’Av, a 25-hour fast, commemorates the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and other tragedies in Jewish history.
Beginning on Saturday night and continuing throughout Sunday, the worshippers read the Book of Lamentations and other lamentations dealing with the destruction of the Temple and the exile from Jerusalem while sitting on the ground in front of the Western Wall.
On Sunday morning, seven Jewish visitors were removed from the Temple Mount after breaking the rules for visiting the site holy to both Jews and Muslims. Some 300 other Jews visited the Temple Mount on Sunday, as well as about 2,700 Muslims.
The removed Jewish visitors did not walk in the direction they were told to, Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Israel Police increased security measures in the Old City of Jerusalem and throughout the city for the fast.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
