Rabbis pray at Western Wall to end coronavirus - WATCH
Due to the Health Ministry regulations, the public are requested not to attend in person but to take part via the internet.
By DONNA RACHEL EDMUNDSJewish men pray at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City. April 19, 2020.(photo credit: NATI SHOCHAT/FLASH 90)
Jews worldwide have been called upon to take part in a prayer service being specially broadcast from the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem on Tuesday, to petition God for an end to the pandemic and the sustained livelihood for all Jews in Israel and around the world.Tuesday marks Erev Rosh Chodesh Av (the eve of the month of Av) which begin the nine days of mourning, culminating in Tisha B'Av (the ninth of Av) which is a fast day due the various calamities said to have occurred on this day. Both the temples were destroyed on Tisha B'Av, and the expulsion of Jews from Spain occurred at this time. More recently, World War I broke out on Tisha B'Av 1914, and the date is still considered to be inauspicious.At 5pm Jerusalem local time (3 p.m. BST / 10 a.m. EDT / 7 a.m. PDT), a minyan (a prayer quorum) will gather at the wall in the presence of the Chief Rabbis of Israel, the Rabbi of the Western Wall, leading rabbis, and the Minister of Religious Affairs to lead Jews in the recital of slichot (penitential prayers) for the coronavirus pandemic to end, and for the livelihood of all the Jewish people, in Israel and around the world.Due to the Health Ministry regulations, the public are requested not to attend in person but to take part via the internet, as cameras at the Western Wall will be live-streaming the event.Unemployment levels hit 27.5% in late April, the worst month ever recorded for Israel's workforce as lockdown restrictions forced more than a million Israelis out of jobs, primarily in the service industries. Comparative figures for February, before the lockdown was initiated, recorded unemployment at just 3.9%.As of Monday, there were 4,685 newly unemployed people in Israel and 859,994 job seekers overall, with the unemployment rate at 21.2%, according to News 13.
