Israel offers to send prayers, notes from Filipinos on Wailing Wall in Jerusalem this Holy Week

Israel on Monday offered to place notes and prayers from Filipinos this Holy Week on the Western Wall or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, a place of prayer and pilgrimage sacred to the Jewish people.

“While Israel is still closed to international travel, we wanted to create a meaningful way this coming holy week for the Filipinos in which they can be inspired and connect with the spiritual sites that are abundant in our country,” said Sammy Yahia, Israel Ministry of Tourism director for India and the Philippines. 

The notes, Yahia said, will be submitted online and will be printed by the Ministry and placed personally in the cracks of the historic wall. 

Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, the wall is visited by thousands of people and pilgrims every year to recite prayers.

Traditionally, visitors could write a prayer or wishes on a piece of paper and squeeze it between the cracks of the wall. It is said that if you leave a note at the Western Wall, your message and wishes will be heard as it is directly taken to God. 

“The Western Wall is an important piece of Jewish tradition and under normal circumstances, would attract thousands of travellers from all faiths and none. With travel currently restricted, we want to make this unique Israeli experience accessible for the Filipinos this Holy week, so we created a portal for them to send their personal notes," Yahia said.

To access the western wall e-note portal, Filipinos should click the link https://israel.travel/ph/westernwall/

In 2019, around 34,100 Filipinos visited Israel, according to the data of Israel Ministry of Tourism. 

Holy Week starts on March 28, Palm Sunday,  and ends on April 3, Holy Saturday. —KG, GMA News