Overview

• Some Jewish voices urged incorporating Palestinian civilian suffering into Tisha B’Av kinnot to confront the moral implications of Israel’s Gaza campaign.
• Opponents of expanded liturgy, including Channel 14 columnist Yedidya Meir, warned that claims of deliberate starvation echo modern blood libels and pointed to Israel’s humanitarian pauses and airdrops.
• In Jerusalem’s Zion Square and Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, public readings of Lamentations and dialogue circles with hostage families aimed to foster unity across political divides.
• A proposed far-right “flag parade” around the Old City walls was denounced by liberal leaders as a desecration of mourning and a sign of deep societal fractures.
• Traditional fast practices are waning among younger Jews, with many skipping kinnot recitations and treating the day as a cultural “movie day.”