The Jewish communities around the world are preparing for Yom Kippur Israel today

Abroad, too, a large part of the Jewish communities will pray outside or at home, due to the spread of the Corona plague.

• Atonement in the Jewish community in Odessa, Ukraine

Jewish communities around the world are celebrating Yom Kippur today (Sunday) in the shadow of the Corona plague.

In the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods of New York, there is a tense silence on the eve of Yom Kippur, following the significant increase in morbidity in the community and in the city, and the fear of the possibility of a severe closure within a few days. 

In the Australian state of Victoria, which experienced a closure due to a serious illness (late June), the holy day of the year will be marked as never before: synagogues will be closed and prayers will be held in homes.

In a special video pre-recorded on the occasion of Yom Kippur, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison conveyed his greetings to the Jewish community.

In the video he said: "For the Jewish community in Victoria Yom Kippur will be very different ... The tradition of these days has been disturbed, so their essence is more important than ever. Like blowing the shofar, so we felt the call to rediscover our best 'I'." 

Morrison added: "None of us know what the future holds, but we know there is great power in contemplation, prayer and charity - that's my experience.

In Germany, too, there is a tense atmosphere ahead of Yom Kippur, albeit for different reasons.

On Yom Kippur, the Jewish community will mark the one year anniversary of the shooting attack on the synagogue in Hala on the afternoon of Yom Kippur last year, in which two people were killed.

As you may recall, the attack failed to break through the synagogue door, thus preventing an even greater tragedy.

Since then, the protection of Jewish institutions throughout the country has been intensified, but some in the Jewish community are warning that it is not enough - in light of the increase in anti-Semitism. 

The memories of the survivors of the attack are still fresh.

"I would never believe that someone would throw explosive devices at a synagogue and a nearby cemetery," Naomi Henkel-Gumbel, an eyewitness who was at the scene and did not initially understand the meaning of the explosion, told AP. 

In Odessa, Ukraine, the Jewish community set up a tent next to the synagogue to allow for Yom Kippur prayers.

As a rule, in Ukraine there is currently no ban on gathering in the open space, and in the community there are reports of excessive adherence to the rules of social distance.

In the morning watch, atonement was held without gathering, and after the morning prayer, the distribution of the 'lekach' (a cake with sugar or a honey cake that is customary in some of the Hasidim to be distributed on the eve of Yom Kippur) took place from the rabbi. 

Rabbi Avraham Wolf, Chabad emissary to Odessa and Rabbi of Southern Ukraine: "We try our best to give the audience the atmosphere of the holy day and to keep all restrictions.

The sukkah is ventilated and now that the weather has cooled down, we have also installed stoves - but leave ventilation so that God forbid the air is trapped and thus endangering someone. "