The Women of the Wall group engaged in their monthly provocation on Sunday morning, Rosh Chodesh Sivan, and tried to bring in a Sefer Torah to the Kosel plaza, which is forbidden according to Israeli law.
They were stopped from doing so by the Kosel security guards.
“A small group of Women of the Wall members came to the Kosel plaza and stirred up a provocation and turned the Kosel into a place of machlokes,” a statement from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said.
“A Sefer Torah was carried in and an attempt was made to bring it in a disgraceful way into the plaza. The desecration was prevented by one of the security guards and the Sefer Torah was guarded in a respectful place.”
The Women of the Wall group [WOW] stated: ‘The security guards of the Kotel Rav kidnapped and confiscated the WOW’S Sefer Torah and even detained a woman who was on her way to the WOW’s festive tefillah with the Sefer Torah as if she was a criminal. It is ridiculous and outrageous that on erev Shavuot, the Kotel Rav desecrates a Sefer Torah and women’s tefillah and confiscates a Sefer Torah whose entire purpose is to allow women to read the Torah at the Kotel. The time has come to free the Kotel from the hands of the Kotel Rav and bring equality to women in this holy place as well.’
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
11 Responses
terrible to see a sefer torah dumped in a briefcase like that
should read: “women off the wall” not “women of the wall”
“..It is ridiculous and outrageous that on erev Shavuot, the Kotel Rav desecrates a Sefer Torah and women’s tefillah..” How crooked this whole statement! Totally unbefitting for a serious news site to even quote such nonsense.
How will she celebrate Shavuot? Will she go to shul to hear the Asseres Hadibros?
These very same women would respect any rule requested of them if visiting the Vatican (which is problematic in it of itself). I also suspect that these monthly incidents are their closest connection to religion. So sad.
The Torah is every Jew’s heritage and women have every halachic right to gather and read from a sefer Torah, pray out loud, sing, and even dance at the Kotel while apart from the men. Preventing them from doing so is theocratic abuse.
they shouldn’t be allowed to visit the women’s section either
they should be barred from entering the kotel plaza with or without a sefer torah
AWeiszguy, the reason they are doing it is not because of their love of hashem or of reading the torah but because they want to make a public statement in the name of feminism, which is why they should be prevented from entering and their sefer torahs confiscated
AWeiszguy obviously knows nothing about Halacha only about breaking Halacha.
@AWiszguy: you may be right in strict halachah, but it’s clearly against the accepted custom and that should be followed at the kossel. Also not ok if it disturbs hundreds of other worshipers who just want to daven in peace. Also if it’s done with the clear intention as a provocation and political show, it cannot be allowed at the Kosel. And finally, singing while apart from the men, well I am sure that the men unwillingly hear their commotion which is certainly Assur.
About 5 years ago, Netanyahu agreed to a compromise providing a location for women to have place on the Kotel plaza for “egalitarian prayer”. He described the settlement as “fair, equitable and creative”> Like so many other of his commitments, he later reneged on the deal in the face of opposition from the religious parties and his desperate need for their votes. (At the time he called it a “freeze”. Today, we are still dealing with these monthly theatrics.
Dorah,
More of your woke, kapo lies. These hysterical harridans began subjecting Kotel visitors to their Rosh Chodesh “theatrics” in 1988.
Poor baby, has it become too difficult for you to participate in Torah desecration with your feminazi girlfriends?