Some 50,000 worshippers took part in the second Selichot prayer service at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem on Thursday night, including former Gaza hostages Bar Kupershtein and Agam Berger and wounded IDF soldiers.
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites, led prayers for the safety of IDF soldiers and security personnel. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also attended.
Selichot are Jewish penitential prayers and poems recited in the period leading up to the High Holidays and on fast days, seeking divine forgiveness and mercy.
Kupershtein, who was abducted by Hamas from the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, spent 738 days in captivity before being released in October 2025.
Berger, an IDF surveillance soldier stationed along the Gaza border, was abducted from the Nahal Oz military post on Oct. 7, and held by Hamas for 482 days before being released in January 2025.
