Israeli Jews celebrate Day of Atonement

JERUSALEM -- A year after a Palestinian uprising began, Israeli Jews on Wednesday marked the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, reflecting on the past year's troubles and looking to the future with apprehension.

Yom Kippur, the day that Jews ask atonement for sins, offered a moment of quiet for reflecting and fasting after a year of upheaval. The holy day began at sundown Wednesday and ends at sundown Thursday.

"Everyone hopes for peace for Israel, for the Palestinians -- and the United States," said Asaf Hyman, 28.

While most Israelis were focused on turmoil at home, many have relatives and friends in the United States, and were also thinking about the terror attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

The Israelis and Palestinians pledged Wednesday to work to solidify a shaky cease-fire, offering a bit of hope. But fears that the events in the United States and the Mideast could spiral out of control added to the anxiety.

Israelis recall the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq fired Scud missiles at Israel. In recent days, thousands of Israelis have picked up gas masks handed out by the government to guard against a possible chemical weapons attack.

Jerusalem's outdoor Mahane Yehuda market bustled Wednesday morning with people stopping at stalls of fish, fruit, olives and spices, gathering food for meals before the holiday. The fast began at sundown.

Itzik Bitone, 25, carrying a sack of sunflower seeds, said he planned to spend Thursday playing cards with friends and not thinking too much about the last year's violence.

"We're really used to it now. So I don't think about it," he said.

Few imagined the violence that broke out just before last year's holiday would continue for a second Yom Kippur.

During the holiday, religious Jews fast to purify the soul and gather in synagogues to pray. Many seek forgiveness for wrongs committed against neighbors.

For secular Israelis, the holiday is also powerful -- it's the anniversary of the 1973 war, in which 3,000 Israelis died fighting against Egyptian and Syrian armies that launched surprise attacks during the holiday.

Some Israelis were seeking diversions, renting movies to watch on the holiday, when shops and cafes closed, radio and television stations halt broadcasting and the streets are empty.

It's a rare moment of silence in an otherwise noisy country. "It's a special day, it's very quiet here," said Hyman, who fetched a bag of movies from a crowded Blockbuster Video store.