Jerusalem – Israel’s prime minister has instructed a quasi-governmental Jewish organization to find a solution for non-Orthodox Jewish female groups wishing to pray at one of Judaism’s holiest sites.
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An official said Tuesday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency, to look into the matter. The official spoke anonymously according to government regulations.
Last week Israeli police detained women from a liberal Jewish group who approached the Western Wall in Jerusalem carrying prayer shawls. Orthodox Jews insist those are for men only. The women seek to worship at the site without such restrictions.
Jewish Agency spokesman Benjamin Rutland said Netanyahu told Sharansky that the Western Wall “must remain a source of Jewish unity rather than division.” The wall is a remnant of the biblical Jewish Temple compound.
woman should have the opportunity to daven at the kosel. with groups or without ect…
I thought these women were given the Southern Wall (Robinson’s Arch) park where they could daven without disturbance or being disturbed. Their leader disrespected the Southern Wall as “back of the bus.” How is the Southern Wall have less sanctity than the Western Wall, when they are part of the same system?
Humble suggestion: Let these so-called women of the wall pray freely on the OTHER SIDE of the Kotel. Give them full access, 24/7, and let them bring along any and all supporters, writers, free-thinkers, libertarians, and left-wing philosophers. Let them sing and dance there wearing whatever they wish. Let as many media reporters join them as space allows. Give them live coverage, i.e. CNN, JTA, UPI, and, of course, El Jazira. Such permission will bring tis controversy to a final close. Forever.
We look like Taliban with such a nasty policy. Let them daven, as I have said here many times.
they ARE allowed to pray. with groups . (i’ve done it)
just not allowed to have talleisim, etc., things that are for MEN
The Kotel is an Orthodox synagogue. Should women have the right to form a Minyan in your Shul? Should I have the right to demand a separate Minyan at every impressive Reform temple I pass in suburban communities in the US?
The truth is these women are not there to pray to god they are there to make provocations and they should be banned from the whole area, They should be given a seperate place where they could act out their halucinations.
These rabble don’t believe in God and the Torah and their only purpose is to create trouble and BTW they are funded by the Reform religion and the New Israel Fund which both work very hard for the downfall of judaism and Israel
Equity doesn’t mean that you have to bend over backwards to acquiesce.
Remove the ban,
Remove the novelty.
Why would a woman lower and degrade herself by wearing men’s tefilin and tails?
Foy.. VIN pls remove that photo, can’t look goytes & shiksas putting on tfilin,
There is a mechitza and if the men would be davening and looking into their siddurim, they wouldn’t know what the women are doing.
Why stop at women wearing taleitim and tefillin?
Israel should permit every possible variation of Judaism to do what feels right to them at the Kotel. No standards, no morals, just whatever they want.
UNITY IS TRADITION
Tradition does not involve females praying at kotel
Those woman should go to the great wall of china and pray there if they need a wall
Hoe many transgretion does anyone see on this pictura . see at least 9
before a jew can put on tephilin or a taalis or lain they need one thing. a circumcision.
They are bothering nobody, as they are behind a mechitza. Rashi’s daughters wore tefilin. It is not my place or anybody else’s to judge their intentions. If you are a navi who is capable of doing so, please do me a personal favor and first give me the upcoming lottery numbers which would be a better use of your skills.
Women have their mitzvos and men have theirs. The Torah is very clear on it and Hashem has a reason for the division. Hashem made men the way he did and women the way he did for a reason. WE are NOT the same, we are capable of doing some of the same things and then we are NOT capable of doing others because HASHEM made us different for a reason, his reasons, which we are NOT supposed to question. Praying to Hashem while challenging his reasons for making us different and giving us different mitzvos is hypocritical and foolish!!! Need I say more?
If they want to get close why not go up to the dome of the rock and daven their with tallis and tefellin. They are provokers. We do what are sages say no more or less. We do not put on tefellin on Shabbos, we do not where 3 tallesims.
To all you “open minded” people who advocate that the women should be allowed to daven at the main Kotel with Tallis & / or Tefillin; how about letting the “fulfilled” Jews (Christians & other meshumidim) at the Kotel with crosses? How about a few Wiccans? Half dressed Gays & Transgendered? There comes a time when “tolerance” infringes on other people’s rights.
What I cant understand is- these women are ready to put on Tefillin but they’re not ready to cover their hair?
Why would these women pursue a mitzvah meant for men, when there are mitzvos unique to them that they can still discover?
I’m not going to weigh in on their brand of religion, but it seems to me that one should first cover their own bases before moving on to the next playing field.
many of these activists dont believe in a Third Temple or sacrifices and would be happy to give the Kotel away to arabs
I happen to know the baalas koreh who is a rabbi. She is a wonderful, caring person who loves jews, judaism and israel. You may not agree with her branch of judaism which gives ordination to women, but I would rather have her davening or layning on my behalf than most of the commenters here. She is quite sincere and shame on all who throw around hateful insults.
Orthodoxy doesn’t have a monopoly on judaism or truth. You just think you do.
The kotel is not an orthodox shul and its not privately funded. The women would have no right to come to a private shul and do this , but the kotel is under the control of the state of Israel, which should have no role in funding religious institutions of any kind. Israel is not a theocracy, and is made up of a majority who arent orthodox. If the non-orthodox were as exclusionary and demanding as the charedim, they could push for there to be no orthodox services there just as easily.
these woman are not the only weirdos that are banned at the kosel. the same is true for the loonies who used to dress all in white and come Friday night and try to get some attention. the kosel should be for anyone that wants to daven to hashem and not to call attention to themselves and disturb others
Looking at this picture, I wonder once again, how is it that none of these women ever had a friend good enough to tell them the reality of life: that women of their, to put it politely, limited physical appeal could still attract men with good personalities. Alas, that’s not the course they’ve chosen.
During the first bayis, the Heichal and Azoroh were open to all kinds of religious worship.
There were constantly all kinds of Asheiros and Baal inside the Bais Hamikdosh, for people to use in their worship. Even Chezkiyohu Hamelech did not remove all of them. So its not so simple.
Imagine if an equivilent group would want to pray in St. Peters in Rome or in Mecca. There is a place for women to pray but if you see the New York Times photo-there is a clown with a yarmulka next to women laining. Such viloations of halacha should not be tolerated. The kosel is not a mere cultural site.
`looking at the photo they don’t appear to be dressed “religiously” – how many are actually shomer mitzvot