Yom Kippur - what to think about this year?

Ask anyone around the world that knows anything about Judaism, what the holiest day of the year for Jew is and you will almost always get the correct answer Yom Kippur, and in Israel we will really experience it.

In Britain and I presume much of the western world things slow down on Christmas Day, with virtually all shops shut and people spend time with their families. However, in Israel things go even further on Yom Kippur, not only does all public transport shutdown (as it does every Shabbat) but Ben Gurion International Airport also shuts down, and it is illegal to drive. While even more shocking today in the western world, the television companies stop broadcasting for a whole day.

This year it seemed to become fashionable for prominent people around the world to call for people to try and understand what it is like for Muslims during Ramadan. So I urge my non-Jewish readers and also Jewish readers, about the biggest issue that will affect not only the Jewish people but the whole world in the coming year. On Yom Kippur, the Jewish people pray not only for a healthy and successful year for themselves, but for all the Jewish people , and the entire world.

As Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu said this week at the UN, now is the time to think about the biggest issue facing the world. Are we going to confront Iran, whose leader not only denies the Holocaust, but is now developing nuclear weapons, which under the current leadeship would use it to attack Israel and other countries. Together with Mr Netenyahu I thank Britain and the other countries that walked out of the UN General Assembly this week when the Iranian leader began his anti-semitic speach. However, I urge all right minded individuals on Yom Kippur to consider the threat that Iran now poses to the world, and over the next year to show your support for confronting this threat.