Thousands Attend Birkat Kohanim at Western Wall

Thousands of people began arriving at the Western Wall plaza for the event from the wee hours of the morning in order to ensure they would have a place. No vehicles were allowed into the Old City, and crowds made their way on foot to the ancient site – the only remnant left of the retaining wall of the Holy Temple of Jerusalem, and together with the Temple Mount the holiest site on the planet for Jews. The ceremony was led by Israeli Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger and Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar.