Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Yom Kippur

Iran Dept: The country has completely closed its airspace to airplanes, shut down its buses and trains, and locked its border crossings in preparation the holy day, which begins Tuesday evening and ends Wednesday after sundown. Restaurants, businesses and schools closed, government ministries shuttered, and Israeli television and radio stations went silent. Highways and roads emptied of cars a convention honoured even by most secular and non-Jewish Israelis, according to Vancouver Sun. This year, the day of introspection comes amid heightened speculation that an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities could be near. When Yom Kippur comes to a close Wednesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make his way to New York to address the United Nations with one main message: Iran's nuclear program is an existential threat to Israel, and it must be stopped. Israel and the United States say Iran aims to develop weapons technology, but Tehran says its program is for peaceful purposes and jERUSALEM - Israel ground almost to a halt Tuesday afternoon in preparation for Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day of the year. Yom Kippur is Judaism's day of atonement, when devout Jews ask God to forgive them for their transgressions. They refrain from eating and drinking and attend intense prayer services in synagogues. The day caps a traditional 10-day period of soul-searching that began with the holiday of Rosh Hashana, the start of the Jewish new year. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.