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.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
- Alyssa Katz, Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
