Yom Kippur Lures Israeli Cyclists And Kids Onto Empty Streets
Image by Getty Images
Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, is a time when many non-regular Israeli synagogue-goers take time to pray. It is also an annual opportunity for children to ride their bicycles on deserted streets.
Almost all Israeli road traffic stops on Yom Kippur as most of the country’s Jewish majority refrains from driving. Roads and main highways are deserted and left clear for children to enjoy without much fear of encountering a motor vehicle.
On Wednesday, scores of children went out to ride their bicycles, scooters and skateboards on a main road that separates the Israeli urban settlement of Pisgat Zeev from the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Hanina, both in East Jerusalem.
Israeli children rode freely on the main road that leads into the heart of Jerusalem, where there were similar scenes on the deserted highways west of the Old City.
A few Palestinian children also took advantage of the open roads to have fun. In their own area, traffic ran freely and streets were bustling.
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.
