Women Overcome Wall

Dear Friends,

Today was an historic day for “Women of the Wall” (WOW) as they overcame a wall of protesting Haredim/Ultra-Orthodox Jews to pray and sing together at the Western Wall. It was the first Rosh Chodesh (First Day of the Month) since the Jerusalem District court ruled that women wearing tallitot/tallises at the Kotel are not violating the regulations that govern the Western Wall plaza, which only say that people there have to pray according to “local custom.” As they have tried to do every Rosh Chodesh members of WOW came to the Kotel to pray together in the women’s section of the plaza. This substantial group of women were met by a very large group of Haredi protestors. The ultra-Orthodox Jews flooded the area and might have blocked the women from reaching the women’s section of the wall. However, unlike previous times, the police not only did not detain the women but formed a ring around them to protect them from the protestors. As a result, they were able to pray and sing songs joyfully in unison – a great victory!

It should be noted that all did not go perfectly. As the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported:

“Three people were arrested and two police officers were injured in the protests, in which demonstrators at several points threw water bottles and chairs in the direction of the women’s section, while calling the police “Nazis” and shouting at them “Go back to Germany.” Police formed a human barricade to hold back the protesters when the women exited the prayer plaza after they had concluded their service. After they had passed through Dung Gate, a group of ultra-Orthodox protesters began throwing rocks in their direction. They continued to throw rocks at buses that delivered the women away from the violent protests.”

Unfortunately, this offensive and violent display is not surprising, given the history of Haredi reaction to what they consider violations of Jewish law. This is a black and white issue. It's about whether those with Black hats and white shirts should be allowed to make the rules for how Judaism is practiced by the rest of us. It is about religious freedom, pure and simple, black and white. On the other hand, the political situation in Israel is far from simple. So, with that in mind, and in the interests of "Shalom Bayit" ('Peace in the House' - a great Jewish value) I accept the compromise that Natan Sharansky has proposed establishing a pluralistic prayer site at the South Wall/Robinson's arch. But, until that is done, which is likely to take several years, the Women of the Wall must be allowed to pray there unmolested.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Jordan Millstein

p.s. You may not know that the leader of Women of the Wall, Anat Hoffman, is also the Director of the Israel Religious Action Center of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (i.e. the Reform Movement of Israel). So, this is a proud day for us as Reform Jews as well!