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 »
JERUSALEM — Women praying together out loud at the Western Wall in prayer shawls did not disturb the public order and should not have been arrested, an Israeli court found.
Anat Hoffman, leader of the Women of the Wall, is arrested for holding a Torah scroll at Judaism’s holiest site. – Photo: Michal Fattal
The Jerusalem District Court on Thursday ruled that five women from the Women of The Wall group should not have been arrested and rejected a police request for a restraining order against the women from the site. Continue Reading »
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.
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 »
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.
A one-minute siren sounded throughout Israel on Sunday night, marking the official opening of Memorial Day. A torch was lit at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, in the presence of President Shimon Peres and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.
Israeli flags on military cemetery. – Photo: AFP
“We know full well that there are no words we can say this night to assuage your pain,” Peres told bereaved families in his speech. Continue Reading »
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 »
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.
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 »
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.
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 »
Add Kaddish to the list of Jewish prayers and ritual objects women are not allowed to be engaged with at the Western Wall, according to the commander of the Jerusalem police.
Anat Hoffman, leader of the Women of the Wall, is arrested for holding a Torah scroll at Judaism’s holiest site. – Photo: Michal Fattal
In a March 14 letter to Anat Hoffman, chair of Women of the Wall, Commander Yossi Pariente of Israel Police department’s Southern District wrote that he met with a deputy attorney general for the government of Israel to go over the rules pertaining to Women of the Wall, which include prohibitions on:
“…Wrapping yourselves in tallitot [prayer shawls], holding a minyan [prayer quorum] of women including the Kaddish or Kedusha prayers, and reading from the Torah.” Continue Reading »
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 »
Knesset Members Stav Shaffir, Tamar Zandberg and Michal Rozin on Tuesday joined the monthly prayer service held by the Women of the Wall at the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem.
Senior ‘Women of the Wall’ member Anat Hoffman with MK Stav Shaffir (m) and MK Tamar Zandberg (r) – Photo: Lital Kaplan
The Women of the Wall have been holding monthly prayer services at the Western Wall for the past 24 years.
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said Tuesday morning that he does not intend to present recommendations on resolving the conflict over prayer regulations at the Western Wall until a new coalition has been formed.
Anat Hoffman, leader of Women of the Wall, being arrested in December while praying at the Western Wall. – Photo by Michal Fattal
“I proposed that we keep the issue quiet so that it would not be influenced by the coalition negotiations,” he told participants at a session of the Jewish Agency Board of Governors, which is meeting in Jerusalem this week. Continue Reading »
By Elad Benari
The head of manuscripts at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Najeh Bkeirat, has accused Israel of trying to “Judaize” the Temple Mount by building a new Holy Temple.
Speaking on January 4 to the Palestine journal, which is affiliated with the Hamas terrorist group, Bkeirat claimed that “the construction of the false Temple is closer than ever before.”
Bkeirat claimed in the interview that an analysis of Jerusalem’s development plans finds there is an intention to Judaize the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and within this framework build the Temple on its ruins and to then reduce the number of Arab residents in the city. Continue Reading »
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Magen David and Police made an exception to allow a man to pray at the Western Wall (Kotel) when he explained his illness may not allow him another chance.
Prayer at the Western Wall for another chance – Isarel news photo: Magen David
Handicapped accessibility at the Western Wall (Kotel) usually must be made in advance, but an exception was made for patient David Schneer, who made the sudden request to Magen David Adom medics who were transferring him from a Jerusalem hospital to his home in the metropolitan Tel Aviv area. Continue Reading »
Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, dean of the Hesder Yeshiva in Petah Tikva, said one solution could be to designate different hours for Orthodox and non-Orthodox prayer.
Two leading national-religious rabbis have expressed support for accommodating non-Orthodox prayer at the Western Wall. – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post
“Jerusalem is at the heart of the Jewish people, and if we want all of the Jewish people to feel connected there then we need to find a place for all parts of the Jewish people at the Western Wall,” Cherlow told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
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