An estimated 15,000 observant Jews, including many American and European tourists, made the traditional pilgrimage at Passover-time to Mount Zion today. The hill, which projects as an enclave into the Jordan-held section of Jerusalem, is a shrine to Orthodox Jews and the reputed site of David’s Tomb.
Special trains brought the pilgrims to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and Haifa. Rabbi Jacob Toledano, the Minister of Religion, greeted the arrivals at the station. They made their way, on foot through the old Montefiore Quarter up the new winding road to the crest of the mount where many of them recited prayers in the sanctuary.
The procession passed under the watchful eyes of Trans-Jordan sentries on the Old City walls, in some places less than a hundred yards distant.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
