Just before the rains started, close to 150,000 Jews from all over the country arrived at Rachel’s Tomb just outside of Bethlehem.

Heavy rains wreaked havoc in Israel’s populated coastal plain on Friday, causing power outrages and severe flooding in several locations, and the continuing wet weather has forced the postponement of Saturday night’s memorial rally at Rabin Square in Tel Aviv commemorating 14 years since the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Still, the storm front has brought some relief to a region locked in a dire water shortage crisis.

The flooding caused the water level of the Sea of Galilee to rise by two centimeters. It is expected to continue to rise throughout the weekend as heavy rainfall hits the Galilee and the Golan Heights. Just before the rains started, close to 150,000 Jews from all over the country arrived at Rachel’s Tomb just outside of Bethlehem on Thursday for a traditional day of prayer on the anniversary of the biblical matriarch’s death. Some barren women claim to have fallen pregnant after visiting and praying at the site.

Source: ICEJ.org