Thousands of Jews of every stripe visited the holy city of
Jerusalem during Succos, particularly during Chol Hamoed when
visitors, including gedolei Yisroel, flocked to the
Kosel Hama'arovi to pray and to hold their daled minim
near the site where the Temple once stood.
The Egged Bus Company succeeded in transporting thousands of
passengers to and from the Kosel every day thanks to careful
planning. The police also came prepared, working together
with Egged and the City of Jerusalem to allow bus traffic in
the area of the Old City. Buses arrived from every part of
the city and special routes, including some with separate
seating, were added to transport passengers from certain
neighborhoods directly to the Kosel.
The City of Jerusalem praised Egged, which incorporated
lessons learned from previous holidays and events, placing a
large fleet of buses at the disposal of passengers traveling
to the Kosel and back. At the exit from the Western Wall
Plaza a line of buses stood waiting, particularly during peak
hours, and boarding passengers filled one bus after another.
Due to security arrangements at the entry and exit points
there were occasional delays at the inspection booths, but no
irregular incidents were reported.
Yeshivas and botei knesses throughout the city held
hundreds of Simchas Beis Hashoeva events sponsored by the
City of Jerusalem's Department for Torah Culture.
Participants at these events included gedolei Torah,
roshei yeshivos and public officials.
Jerusalem Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupoliansky received thousands of
city residents at the municipal succah set up at Safra
Square. He also went with other Degel HaTorah representatives
to visit gedolei Yisroel at their homes.
The City of Jerusalem prepared a wide variety of activities
for city residents and visitors. In addition traffic police
refrained from issuing parking tickets during certain hours
of the day when numerous mispalelim arrived, such as
the area of Zichron Moshe, Jaffa Gate and the Karta parking
lot.
