In Israel, which major highway in Tel Aviv is famously empty of cars on Yom Kippur?

In Israel, the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv is famously empty of cars on Yom Kippur.

The road is officially Highway 20, but it is widely known as the Ayalon Highway. It runs through the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and connects with major routes including Highways 1, 2, 4, and 5, making its near-empty condition especially striking during the holiday.

Yom Kippur is a legal holiday in Israel, and public life largely pauses. Public transportation stops, businesses close, and driving is broadly avoided in practice, apart from emergency services. Because ordinary traffic disappears, streets and major roadways become unusually quiet and are often used by pedestrians, cyclists, and inline skaters.

The scene is sometimes described as a formal nationwide traffic ban, but that is imprecise: Israeli law does not generally prohibit driving on Yom Kippur. The empty highway reflects a powerful combination of religious observance, social convention, and the shutdown of normal transportation. The Ayalon’s dramatic urban setting makes it the iconic example.