Jerusalem Marathon Caused An Empty Kotel

The main part of normal life and routine that was affected by the Jerusalem Marathon on Friday was the roads throughout Jerusalem being shut down. Even roads that were left open were jammed with traffic as a result of all the other road closures.

On the one hand, that is the price to pay for the occasional cultural event, and every major city, or at least many major cities, deal with the same situation and decide the price is worth paying. On the other hand, it is a tremendous annoyance to the residents and visitors in the city.

Unfortunately, and I don't know that this was worse than people who could not open their businesses and earn their daily living or were left with hardly any buyers, or if it was not as bad, but another thing affected by the marathon was the Kotel.

Ladaat is reporting that for much of Friday morning, the Kotel was practically empty, which is highly unusual and only happens on the days of the worst weather. A few people were there, having gone by foot, and they saw the depressing phenomenon of a Kotel practically empty of visitors.

Is it worth it, to have a run shut down a city, and prevent people from being able to pray at the Kotel? I don't know. Some could have walked, but most regular visitors come from too far away to walk. is this worse than stopping people from doing their business and making a living, or worse than inconveniencing thousands of residents?

I don't know.