With Israel halfway through its fifth consecutive winter of depleted rainfall, thousands of Jews assembled Thursday at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem to pray together for rain, The Times of Israel reports.
The event was organized by Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel and supplications were led by the chief rabbis of Israel, David Lau and Yitzhak Yosef, along with other prominent rabbis.
This year is shaping up to be the fifth parched year in a row and, according to some experts, the worst drought season in 40 years.
The country has received just 45 percent of its multiyear average rainfall for September through November. It has only rained twice in December, and the forecast for the coming days is mostly sun with only a little light rain in the north.