Final Western Wall Selichot Draws Tens of Thousands Before Yom Kippur

About 150,000 worshippers gathered overnight for the final central Selichot service at the Western Wall before Yom Kippur. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara attended alongside freed hostages Eliya Cohen, Rom Braslavski, Elkana Bohbot and Ohad Ben Ami, Israel's two chief rabbis, Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz and Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation said close to two million people had participated in the site's Selichot services since the start of Elul. The gathering concluded 40 days of Sephardic Selichot and about two weeks of Ashkenazi services, with prayers for Israel's soldiers, security forces and national unity.