Reparation day

Mounted police at Damascus Gate

It's Yom Kippur today ... popularly known as Day of Atonement but more properly Day of Reparation. All public activities stopped by 3pm yesterday and at sunset the whole country was silent. No cars in the street ... the only day in the year when the streets are totally empty of traffic. Its a day when israelis go out in bikes ... not to go anyway but simple to enjoy the empty streets. Along the City walls of the Old City, the main street was also empty of cars except for police cars and police motorbikes and mounted police. It was eerie. Some families of jews walked home from prayers at the Wailing Wall ... talking softly. Some were barefoot to show repentance.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-shuts-down-for-yom-kippur-2/?fbclid=IwAR3X4JM7UNBc6PJD7eBJQOYBDvVLRL-s_5A_IccutI9POOKebPh9x2hC160

On the eastern/arab side of the City, life was as usual last night. Kebab sellers were roasting in the streets and people continued to loiter around in the chill, enjoying the breeze. But this morning most arab shops were closed. Not because they observe Yom Kippur but because all the borders with Palestine are closed and shopkeepers living there cannot come to Jerusalem to open shop. Hence even East Jerusalem was also relatively quiet.

Only police cars on the streets

Closure of the borders meant that our workers living in Palestine could not come to work. I was rushing between the 2 libraries because both were short of workers due to the closure. Then those workers who have Israeli citizenship have Yom Kippur as a compulsory day off. I could get no paper work done in our IT and Finance departments due to this. I'm quite afraid for next week when Sukkoth starts because the borders will be closed for a week. No workers for a week!!! I'll be working time and stretching to the limits.