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Comment by elcapitan | Hacker News Reader

One of the most interesting experiences in my life was visiting Tel Aviv on Yom Kippur. On that day all car traffic is prohibited (also TV stations are offline etc). It was absolutely amazing. Tel Aviv is a city with large roads and usually extremely busy. On that day, cyclists ride over the highway, kids play on the streets. I never felt that directly before how invasive the normal car situation is.

Here's a photo https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2015/09/F141003...

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Just to clarify, there is no law that I know of prohibiting car traffic on yom kippur in Tel Aviv. However, since this is the most important holiday of the year, even many Israelis who don't celebrate other holidays will celebrate this one. I believe that virtually all businesses are closed that day, even those that don't close on other Jewish holidays (again, not illegal to operate, but customary). So in practice, few people will be driving that day/night.

Thanks for the clarification! Strong moral code though, I haven't seen one non-official car that day.

Moral code or just social pressure - the discomfort of the thought of disobeying the tradition and everyone glaring at you as you drive down the road outweighs the benefits of doing so even if you don't believe in the tradition.

What about hotels? E.g. if somebody wants to visit especially for that holiday.

Generally hotels will run with a skeleton staff.

FYI in case you weren't aware, Yom Kippur is celebrated tonight / tomorrow this year.

I'm aware :)

Reminds me of walking the Bijlmermeer near HVA in Amsterdam on a Sunday morning. No cars, no people, no traffic, absolutely empty streets. The only sound was that of the wind streaming through steel canyons, and my footsteps. A positively divine experience

Kids can play anywhere else when cars are on the road. What's so attractive about playing on a big patch of hard material that gets so hot in the summer you can't touch it without burning yourself? What's wrong with parks and people's yards? I never understood the pining for the days of playing on streets.

It's about reclaiming the space -- playing near a road is noisy, smelly and dangerous for kids.

"Outside" has become synonymous with car traffic, which is why children playing on the road feels so refreshing

you can't touch it without burning yourself

That's why I wore shoes or rode a bike when I played in the streets.

I grew up in places with small yards and no parks nearby. The street is where we'd ride our bikes, have water balloon fights, play roller hockey, etc.

When I played baseball growing up, the street was level and hard and so on. The backyard with grass had a steep hill and poor traction, etc. The street in front of my house made a much better baseball field than my steeply sloped, grassy and uneven backyard.

Yet, it was right in front of my house, so I could use the bathroom, get a snack and remained under the watchful eye of my mother, unlike, say, some distant park with a proper baseball field.

Brussels had a car-free Sunday last year, it was fantastic. Cars are like sugar, something great that we massively abuse.

It seems to be an annual event now?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2018/sep/16/car-fr... https://www.brussels.be/mobility-week-and-car-free-sunday-20...

Its amazing how divided Israel culture is yet the idea of having no cars for one day is totally embraced by anyone. Gives me a feeling of how polluted my daily life is with noise and gas.

Fun fact: today is Yom Kippur.

How accessible is Tel Aviv for pedestrians? I'm visiting soon and wonder how complicated it will be without a car.

The main parts are well accessible. There are some districts which are very car-centric, but the "old" part is well walkable. Or you can rent a bike, as I did.

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