Although yours truly was a lazy blogger today and did not go out under a rain-threatening sky to photograph it for you, today was the annual Sukkot Jerusalem March. Some 35,000 Israelis were walking the three possible routes too, but a big contingent was some 7,000 Christian Zionists, pilgrims from a hundred nations who came to express their love and support for Israel. The International Christian of Embassy Jerusalem, a global organization that promotes ties between Israel and the world's Christian communities, is sponsoring a week-long convention in the capital. After the hikers converged on Jerusalem another 20,000 people joined in the festivities at Sacher Park.
The Christian visitors always call the Sukkot holiday the Feast of Tabernacles.
You can read more about the march in the Haaretz article and/or see a brief video of the marchers from IBA television here.
A humorously biting coverage of this and last year's march is here, at the Jerusalemite blog.
UPDATE: Thursday's Jerusalem Post has full coverage of the event here and explains the important point that "Citing different verses of scripture shared by Jews and Christians alike, organizers pointed out that Succot is the time when the nations of the world are supposed to come to Jerusalem and celebrate with the Jewish people." . Sukkot is one of the three ancient Jewish pilgrimage festivals (along with Passover and Shavuot), when Jews from all over the world were to come up to the Temple in Jerusalem.
