Yom Kippur shrouded in grief

Bombing victims had been enjoying a holiday meal

Israelis have begun marking the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.

Commemorations have been overshadowed by a devastating suicide attack in the northern port of Haifa on Saturday.

A Palestinian woman succeeded in blowing herself up at a restaurant, killing 19 people, despite a massive security clampdown in preparation for the holiday.

October 6 is also the anniversary of the start of war in 1973 when Syria and Egypt launched an ultimately unsuccessful offensive against Israel.

Community shocked

Funerals were held on Sunday for the victims of the Haifa bombing.

People had been enjoying a holiday meal on the seafront when the attacker struck.

Israelis have been remembering those killed in the Yom Kippur war

One family, the Zev Avivs from the Yagour kibbutz, lost five family members in the blast.

The attack left the mixed Jewish and Arab community in a state of shock.

"For years we have been one large family, Arabs and Jews," said Orli Nir, a daughter of one of the founders of the restaurant which is co-owned by Jewish and Arab families.

Soul searching

During Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement - Jews ask God to forgive their sins.

According to Jewish belief, it is the time when God decides the fate of each person for the year ahead.

In a reference to the 1973 war, Ariel Sharon said in a radio address: "On this day, Yom Kippur, over the course of Jewish existence each Jew contemplates his fate and searches his soul.

"For the last 30 years our personal soul searching has overlapped a national soul searching... Remembrance and sorrow shroud the entire nation".