Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Crossings between Israel and the West Bank and Gaza will be closed to Palestinians for 11 days beginning with the start of the Sukkot holiday.

Exceptions for the Oct. 4-14 closings will be made for humanitarian, medical and unusual cases with the approval of the Israeli military’s coordinator of government activities in the territories.

Usually during long holidays such as Sukkot, the crossings are closed just at the beginning and end of the observances.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman approved the longer closure days after three Israeli security officers were killed by a Palestinian man at the entrance to the Jerusalem-area West Bank settlement of Har Adar, where he had a permit to work.

Palestinians with valid work permits will not be allowed to enter Israel.

The crossings also were closed last month for the two days of Rosh Hashanah and for Yom Kippur.

Why I became the Forward’s 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.

That’s where you come in. Gifts of any size keep the Forward free and accessible to everyone and ensure we have the resources we need to power the Forward at this critical time for American Jews.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Will you support our work today?

— Alyssa Katz, editor-in-chief

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT