Israel Built Netanyahu a Secret Air-Conditioned Yom Kippur Tunnel - He Never Showed Up

According to Ynet, the Shin Bet and the security division of the Prime Minister's Office built a 15-to-20-metre air-conditioned tunnel connecting Netanyahu's private home on Gaza Street in Jerusalem's Rehavia neighbourhood to the Yad Tamar synagogue on HaAri Street. The construction required closing the street to traffic, clearing all vehicles from public parking, and deploying generators, fencing, barriers, tents, and magnetometers. Dozens of workers and police officers were involved, and security personnel took control of nearby residential courtyards to make the project possible. A neighbour told Ynet it was "the most excessive thing that ever happened there on Yom Kippur." Hours before the holiday began, work stopped mid-construction. Netanyahu did not attend the synagogue at all - Ynet reports he spent the holiday praying at the private home of a haredi businessman, where he stayed for approximately three hours. The entire infrastructure operation was therefore never used for its intended purpose. The episode has drawn attention to questions of proportionality in the security arrangements afforded to Israeli leaders and the costs - financial and personal - borne by ordinary residents. President Isaac Herzog, by contrast, walked to synagogue on foot with no special infrastructure. The Prime Minister's Office has not publicly explained why preparations were made for Netanyahu to travel from the Gaza Street address when he was ultimately elsewhere.