Special Western Wall Prayer Meeting

Thousands of Jews gathered at the Western Wall on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Thursday 21st March to pray for the Israeli hostages still being held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. The event was broadcast live worldwide from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm, Israel time.

During that time there were speeches from hostage family members, recitations of psalms and a special prayer for the return of the hostages. The event closed with Jews around the world joining a recital of the Shema prayer.

‘Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad‘

[‘Hear O’ Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One’]

NOTE: this version uses Hashem [the Name] instead of Adonai [the Lord].

A statement by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said, "these are the words that accompany us all in moments of joy and often in times of hardship and distress."

The gathering coincided with the Fast of Esther, a dawn-to-nightfall fast that is held before the Jewish holiday of Purim, which commemorates the events that led to the salvation of the Jewish people in the Persian empire when Haman plotted to kill them all.

This video report from the event is by Julie Stahl of the Christian Broadcasting Network.