This footage was filmed and produced 20 September 2023.

In preparation for the upcoming holiday of Yom Kippur – the Jewish Day of Atonement – Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development emphasized to the public the importance of observing the custom of redeeming atonements with money and not chickens.

In the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it is customary to observe the custom of “redemption of atonements.” The ceremony is performed using live poultry, and the chicken is usually donated to the poor afterwards, but as part of it unnecessary suffering is caused to the animal before it is slaughtered.

Once again this year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development encourages the public to observe this custom with money, not animals, and to donate it to charities. Atonement through monetary redemption is supported even by the greatest rabbis, who asked the public to prefer the redemption of monetary atonement to avoid the suffering of animals.

For years, veterinary services have supported the conversion of the practice of atonement into monetary redemption and the use of animals has disappeared.

The support is backed by the rulings of some of the chief rabbis. Despite the above, there is still a large public that observes the custom of atoning using animals.

On the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, thousands of Israeli Jews practiced this Monday in Jerusalem the "Kaparot" ritual, which consists of sacrificing a chicken as a sign of atonement, despite the growing number of opponents of this ritual. .

The "Kaparot" consists of spinning a white poultry three times over the head of a worshiper, while reciting religious prayers so that his sins will be transferred to the animal before Yom Kippur, the day of great forgiveness, which will be celebrated on starting Tuesday night.

The bird, a male for men and a female for women, is then sacrificed and can be donated to the poor or another cause, or kept for the family.

Animal protection organizations criticize this ritual that dates back to the Middle Ages. The Ministry of Agriculture has also been leading a campaign against this custom for three years.
With images in association with Wafa.

This video illustrates various shots of Orthodox Jews performing the Kaparot ritual in the city of Beit Shemesh, central Israel.