Jerusalem is preparing for a month in which its streets will fill with worshippers, visitors and tourists, as the municipality launches an extensive operation ahead of the 2026 Tishrei holidays. Alongside festive lighting and flowers, the preparations include reinforced cleaning services, policing and security, inspections of sukkah construction and special arrangements in the Old City.
One of the most striking figures in the preparations is the approximately 700,000 seasonal and perennial plants that the municipal gardening department has begun planting across the city, including cyclamen, snapdragons and pansies. The flowers will be planted in squares, traffic dividers and public gardens. At the same time, Rosh Hashanah decorations will be hung in neighborhoods, at intersections and along major roads, while changing displays for Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot and Simchat Torah will be projected on the Chords Bridge.
How is Jerusalem preparing to keep the city clean during the Tishrei holidays?
The sanitation department will increase garbage collection as well as manual and mechanical street sweeping, with enhanced cleaning taking place around the clock in tourist areas, near event venues, around synagogues and throughout the city’s neighborhoods. Obstacles and discarded items will also be removed from public spaces ahead of the holidays and during the intermediate days of Sukkot.
After Sukkot, the municipality will carry out a concentrated collection of s’chach branches from October 4 through October 6. Residents are asked to place the branches separately from regular garbage. The municipality is also calling on residents to continue separating waste and using recycling bins and orange packaging-recycling containers.
Why will there be more enforcement and security teams in Jerusalem during the holidays?
Municipal enforcement and policing teams will be reinforced on holiday eves and during the holidays themselves, with an emphasis on maintaining public order, monitoring public parks, preventing littering and ensuring that sukkahs are built in accordance with safety regulations.
The Emergency and Security Division will operate in coordination with Israel Police through patrols, security deployments and a 24/7 observation center connected to approximately 5,000 cameras in public spaces. Focused patrols will also be carried out in parks and other public areas.
During the Ten Days of Repentance, special arrangements will be implemented in the Jewish Quarter and the Old City, including traffic guidance assistance when necessary.
Where should visitors park in Jerusalem during the Tishrei holidays?
The municipality recommends that residents and visitors avoid using private vehicles whenever possible and rely on public transportation, particularly the light rail. Those arriving by car are advised to use park-and-ride facilities such as Ammunition Hill and Nahal Tzofim, or public parking garages in the city center including Safra, Mamilla and Karta. The municipality warns that vehicles parked illegally may be towed.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said: “Jerusalem is dressing for the holidays and preparing to warmly welcome its residents and the hundreds of thousands of visitors and worshippers expected to arrive during the Tishrei holidays. Municipal employees from all operations, service and security departments are working around the clock to renew, clean and beautify every corner of the city, and to ensure that everyone enjoys a festive, safe and pleasant atmosphere.”
