Tag Archive for Kotel

| June 9, 2013
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Women of the Wall service this month ends without arrests

Large number of Jerusalem Police & Border Police deploy to Western Wall to encounter only several dozen haredim, so there wasn’t a recurrence of last month’s violent clashes between women & ultra-Orthodox protesters.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

Despite fears of a showdown, the Women of the Wall went ahead with their monthly prayer service at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Sunday morning, in a morning that turned out to be relatively uneventful.

The Women of the Wall praying at the Western Wall [archive] – Photo: Contact

Last month, thousands of ultra-Orthodox teenagers were bused in for an organized demonstration against the Women of the Wall, and clashed violently with police and members of the group during the prayer service.

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| June 4, 2013
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Federations of North America support Sharansky’s Western Wall compromise

The plan calls for the Robinson’s Arch archeological site at the southern part of the Western Wall to be used as a permanent space for egalitarian prayer. Under the proposal, the Western Wall plaza would be expanded to encompass the additional prayer space.

 

By JTA

 

The Jewish Federations of North America’s board of trustees passed a resolution supporting Natan Sharansky’s proposed compromise on egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall.

Robinson’s Arch archeological site at the southern part of the Western Wall to be used as a permanent space for egalitarian prayer.

Robinson’s Arch archeological site at the southern part of the Western Wall to be used as a permanent space for egalitarian prayer.

Monday’s resolution, according to a JFNA statement, says the compromise “develops a pathway whereby the Kotel will once again become a spiritual center for all Jews and a symbol of unity for the entire Jewish community world-wide.”

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| May 22, 2013
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Yesh Atid’s bill promotes division of Western Wall equally between men & women

MK Aliza Lavie says current situation must change, where the men’s section at the Kotel can no longer be 3 times larger than the women’s.

Gideon Allon

 

Chairwoman of Knesset’s Committee on the Status of Women MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid) has presented a bill promoting equally dividing the Western Wall plaza between men and women in terms of physical space.

Separate and unequal. Men and women’s sections at the Western Wall [Archive] – Photo: Uria Tadmor

The bill states that currently, the men’s section is three times bigger than the women’s section, forcing women who pray at the holy site to crowd together, while more often than not, the men’s section remains half empty.

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| May 16, 2013
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Jews Forbidden to Ascend the Temple Mount As Muslims Threaten More Violent Riots

Once again, Israel Police barred Jews from ascending onto the Temple Mount after Muslim groups threaten more violence over a planned visit by Jewish children.

By David Lev

 

 

Police barred Jews from entering the Temple Mount on Thursday, after Muslim groups threatened violence in the wake of a plan to bring Jewish children to visit the site. The plan, organized by groups encouraging Jewish visits to the Mount, was meant to be an educational program that would demonstrate rituals associated with the Temple, such as the bringing of bikurim (“First Fruits”, the gift to the Temple brought on Shavuot). Continue Reading »

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| May 9, 2013
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Minister Bennett’s compromise: Prayer shawls allowed but reading the Torah, not

Religious Services Minister, Naftali Bennett, meets the Women of the Wall organization & proposes allowing women to pray out loud & wear prayer shawls, but not wearing tefillin or reading an open Torah.

By Yehuda Shlezinger

 

Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) met with the Women of the Wall organization on Tuesday after Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein instructed him to devise specific statutes defining what kind of religious observances would be allowed at the Wall.

Women at the Kotel in Jerusalem – Photo: Connec

During the meeting, Bennett proposed allowing women to wear prayer shawls and pray out loud, but not to wear tefillin and read from open Torah scrolls.

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| May 7, 2013
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Israeli MK seeks new law addressing freedom of prayer at Kotel

Israel’s Attorney General decides not to appeal Jerusalem court’s ruling that essentially enables women to pray as they choose at Western Wall.

Women of the Wall to continue their monthly service as usual on Friday, but Minister Naftali Bennett plans to set new regulations by next month.

By

 

Israel’s Minister of Religious Affairs Naftali Bennett plans to present new regulations for Jewish holy places that could restrict the right of Women of the Wall to pray as they see fit in the future, though he promised to formulate the new rules with input from the women’s group.

Young women wrap themselves in Israeli flags at the Western Wall

Young women wrap themselves in Israeli flags at the Western Wall.

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| April 30, 2013
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Sharansky’s Western Wall prayer plan loses support from both sides

Sharansky’s Kotel plan loses support from both Religious and Women’s groups. Neither side willing to compromise.

By Ben Sales

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Natan Sharansky’s proposal to reduce tensions at the Western Wall has lost support from both Orthodox and non-Orthodox leaders.

When Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, made the plan public a few weeks ago, it received at least tacit approval from a range of activists, including the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinowitz.

The plan would expand the egalitarian section of the Western Wall Plaza – called Robinson’s Arch – and create a unified entrance to the Wall’s traditional and egalitarian sections. Continue Reading »

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| April 23, 2013
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Sharansky gets ‘OK’ from PM to pursue Western Wall prayer plan

Sharansky’s plan calls for the Robinson’s Arch archeological site at the southern part of the Western Wall to be used as the designated space for egalitarian prayer.

By JTA Staff

 

JERUSALEM — Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky was given a green light by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue his plan for a permanent egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall.

Jerusalem (2)

Western Wall and Temple Mount seen in Jerusalem

 

Netanyahu told Sharansky to continue reviewing the situation with Zvi Hauser, the director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Yaakov Amidror, Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Jewish Agency spokesman Benjamin Rutland told JTA on Monday. Continue Reading »

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| April 16, 2013
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Jews Strip-Searched on Temple Mount to Avoid Israeli Flags Offending Muslim

On the 65th Independence Day, the time has come to correct the strange mistake made by Moshe Dayan, who capitulated on the Temple Mount & gave our holy Mount to our enemies.

By Maayana Miskin

Three yeshiva students were strip-searched Tuesday when visiting the Temple Mount, Temple Mount activists have reported.

The Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

The Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

 

The students were reportedly pulled aside by a commander of the police unit for protection of holy sites. They were asked to remove clothing and their bodies were searched for an Israeli flag.

The officer who performed the search apologized to the three for the invasive search. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| April 16, 2013
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VIDEO: What Sharansky’s Western Wall compromise may look like

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, said the implementation of his plan to expand the non-Orthodox prayer site at the Western Wall could begin next month.

By Uri Fintzy

 

An illustration of Natan Sharansky's proposal, which will expand the Western Wall and create a permanent egalitarian space in the Robinson's Arch area. (Creative Commons)

An illustration of Natan Sharansky’s proposal, which will expand the Western Wall and create a permanent egalitarian space in the Robinson’s Arch area. – Creative Commons

JERUSALEM (JTA)

Natan Sharansky has presented what could be a historic proposal to expand space for egalitarian prayer at the Robinson’s Arch section of the Western Wall. JTA’s Ben Sales visits the scene to provide viewers with a better understanding of the proposal and the challenges it poses.

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| April 11, 2013
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Construction of new Kotel site may begin within a month

After 3 months of consultations with a wide spectrum of Israeli & American Jewish leaders, Sharansky unveiled the proposal Tuesday in New York. Now back in Israel, he will present the plan to PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

By Ben Sales

 

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Natan Sharansky said the implementation of his plan to expand the non-Orthodox prayer site at the Western Wall could begin in as little as one month.

In an interview Thursday with JTA, Sharansky sounded cautiously optimistic about his proposal to create an egalitarian space equal in size to the current men’s and women’s sections combined.

The Jewish Agency for Israel chairman was charged last year with finding a solution to mounting tensions over women’s prayer at the Western Wall. Continue Reading »

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| April 9, 2013
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Egalitarian section proposed for Jerusalem’s Western Wall

Plan by Natan Sharansky would mark dramatic step toward pluralism at Judaism’s holy site.

By

 

Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, will present a plan today to expand the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to include a new section for egalitarian prayer to American Jewish religious leaders, the Forward has learned.

Western Wall in Jerusalem, 03/02/2010


Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men participate in a blessing during the holiday of Sukkot, in front of the Western Wall. – Photo: AP

 

If implemented, the proposal, a product of months of deliberation, would mark a dramatic acknowledgement by the state of Israel that prayer at the Wall — regarded as Judaism’s holiest site and a modern-day symbol of national sovereignty — should include non-Orthodox practice in which men and women pray together. Continue Reading »

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| April 5, 2013
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Sharansky: Women reciting Kaddish at Kotel won’t be arrested

At PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s request, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky is drafting recommendations to decrease tensions at the Wall, ensuring that all Jews can pray in a comfortable manner at the Western Wall.

By JTA

 

JERUSALEM  — Women who recite the Mourner’s Kaddish at the Western Wall will not be arrested, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said he has been assured, despite a police vow to enforce a ban.

2010 IN PICTURES JULY

Anat Hoffman, leader of the Women of the Wall, is arrested for holding a Torah scroll at Judaism’s holiest site. – Photo: Michal Fattal

 

Jerusalem police Commissioner Yossi Pariente in a letter sent Thursday to Women of the Wall Chairwoman Anat Hoffman said he would enforce the Justice Ministry’s strict interpretation of a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting women from violating the traditional practices at the site, which is overseen by haredi Orthodox officials. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: , ,
| March 14, 2013
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Torah Written by More Than 200,000 Jews Dedicated at the Kotel

The new Sefer Torah, written by over 200 thousand Jews during the past 7 years, was dedicated at the Western Wall.

By Yoni Kempinski

 

A new Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) was dedicated at the Western Wall in Jerusalem this past Tuesday, which was Rosh Chodesh Nissan.

Arutz Sheva attended the dedication ceremony of the unique scroll, which was written by over 200 thousand people from all continents over a seven-year period. The project began in 2006, during the Second Lebanon War, and over 100 thousand soldiers wrote letters for the scroll as well.

The project was led by Igor Kolomoisky, President of the European Jewish Union (EJU), Vadim Rabinovich, Co-chair of the European Jewish Parliament (EJP) and Head of All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress, Genadiy Bogolubov, businessmen, and Alexandr Levin,  President of the World Congress of Russian speaking Jewry. Continue Reading »

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| February 24, 2013
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Purim’s atmosphere of merriment & glee spreads across Israel

View ‘Harlem Shake’ from Tel Aviv,  Purim Style

Women of the Wall to hold Megila reading at the Kotel (Western Wall)

 

Purim’s carnival atmosphere spread out across the country on Sunday, with revelers of all types and ages soaking up the holiday cheer, many bedecked in bright, loud and extravagant costumes.

Tel Aviv on Purim, 2013.

Tel Aviv on Purim, 2013. – Photo: REUTERS

As in every year, traditional ‘Adloyada’ Purim parades were held the length and breadth of Israel in cities and towns throughout the country, wending their way through town centers and major urban thoroughfares.

Holon’s Ad’deloyada, one of the most renowned, included more than 4,500 participants making merry, including dancers, artists, musicians and other performers from around the country who all marched through the streets of the city.

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