Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, and their two sons Yair and Avner prayed on Yom Kippur at the private synagogue in the Jerusalem home of haredi billionaire Moti Sonnenfeld.
The Netanyahu family participated in Kol Nidrei and the subsequent evening prayers, spending approximately three hours at the residence. Sonnenfeld himself served as cantor for the prayers.
The choice was a last-minute change from the prime minister's original plans. Netanyahu had initially been scheduled to attend Yom Kippur services at the Yad Tamar synagogue on HaAri Street in Jerusalem's Rehavia neighborhood. The Shin Bet security service and the Prime Minister's Office had constructed a sterile tunnel approximately 20 meters long, running from Netanyahu's residence on Gaza Street to the synagogue. The tunnel was built to secure the prime minister while allowing him to walk to services on foot on Yom Kippur.
In the end, however, Netanyahu opted not to use the tunnel or attend Yad Tamar, choosing instead to pray at Sonnenfeld's private residence.
