A rare heavy snowfall covered Jerusalem, some of northern Israel and hilly areas in the occupied West Bank overnight into Thursday, shutting down roads and schools. Worshippers had to trudge through inches of snow to reach the holy sites in Jerusalem's walled Old City, including the snow-capped Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall. A general view of Jerusalem after a snowstorm, as seen from the Mount of Olives, shows the Dome of the Rock, located in Jerusalem's Old City on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Heavy snow is rare in the city, so children went out into the streets to watch the flakes falling and hurl snowballs at each other. Abed Shabany, 39, took his two sons to play on a hill overl...
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Orthodox Christians flocked to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday to celebrate the Holy Fire ceremony, gathering in far greater numbers than last year because coronavirus restrictions have eased. This season’s religious holidays in the Holy Land, home to religious sites sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims, have been overshadowed by tragedy, as Israel mourns the death of 45 Jewish worshippers killed in a stampede overnight between Thursday and Friday at a religious festival in the north of the country. Children were among the casualties. Orthodox Christian worshippers attend the Holy Fire ceremony amid eased coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad “I listened to th...
Read MoreCustomers are lining up at a Jerusalem bakery-cafe for the “Abu Dhabi” doughnut, a date-flavoured confectionery inspired by Israel’s new relations with the United Arab Emirates. Doughnuts, called “sufganiyot” in Hebrew, are a popular fare in Israel during the current holiday of Hanukkah, in which Jews traditionally eat deep-fried delicacies. Customers take photos of "Abu Dhabi" doughnuts at a patisserie in Jerusalem December 13, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen This year, pastry chefs Itzik and Keren Kadosh put a new twist on the treat. At their Cafe Kadosh, they devised the Abu Dhabi doughnut, filled with cream made from dates shipped by the UAE’s Jewish community, with a nougat crown topped with an edible gold leaf. It sells for 22 shekels ($6.76), compared with 18 shekels ($5.50) f...
Read MoreDark Times: Both Holy sides of conflict wall gearing up for dismal Christmas
On both sides of the West Bank Barrier the signs are dismal for the coming festive season. Its dark and gloomy over the region what normally used to be beaming with tourists at this time of the year so close to Christmas. While Jerusalem is yet to come with the terms with the new normal, Bethlehem has announced that it is ‘not going to cancel its Christmas.’ As night grips Jerusalem’s walled Old City, its ancient alleyways become a ghost town of haunting shadows and light. Mornings used to reveal bright picture-postcard scenes of tourists from around the world stopping to buy souvenirs at Palestinian shops as they made their way to biblical sites holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians. A man closes a shop at night amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, at a market in J...
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