Thousands of Jewish worshippers gathered at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem for the traditional priestly blessing.
It is the first time that the ceremony, held twice a year during the intermediate days of the Passover and Sukkot holidays and attracting tens of thousands of worshippers, has been held in a year and a half. Worshippers attending the ceremony on Monday were divided into pods, separated by clear plastic, and fewer people attended than usual since the mass ceremony will also be held again on Tuesday in order to reduce crowd size.
Thousands of Jerusalem police officers, border patrol officers, and volunteers were deployed around the Old City, on roads in Jerusalem and on roads leading to the Western Wall, in order to maintain the safety of the pilgrims.
Last year’s ceremony was streamed on line, with only 10 worshippers present.