Clash At The Kotel

They called us Nazis: Women's group suffers harassment by haredim irritated by their prayer, song at Western Wall.

Women of the Wall: Worshippers called us Nazis
Women's group suffers harassment by haredim irritated by their prayer, song at Western Wall
Kobi Nahshoni • Ynet

Dozens of haredim clashed Monday morning with around 200 worshippers from the Women of the Wall group at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The men were disturbed by the mixed prayer taking place as well as the women's singing.

Tal Steiner, a spokeswoman for the group, told Ynet that ultra-Orthodox women praying at the holy site had yelled curses at them. "They yelled 'Nazis', 'Christians', 'Go marry priests', and 'God should destroy you'," Steiner said.

The men's side of the Western Wall also joined in, yelling at the Women of the Wall and disrupting their prayer.

Despite the previous arrest of a woman belonging to the group, police took the women's side and calmed the worshippers. The conflict was halted during the reading of the Torah, when the worshippers moved to an area sanctified for women's prayer.

The director of the Reform Movement, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, said that "the growing number of Israelis attending equal prayers at the Western Wall proves that the Israeli public is not willing to give up the Wall and abandon it to a loud, jealous, and violent minority".

"The battle over the manner of prayer at the Western Wall is part of a vast struggle for the image of the Israeli public as a society of equality," Rabbi Kariv added.

Yizhar Hess, director of the Conservative Movement, said, "We were excited to see teens from the Conservative Movement's youth group take part in the important battle to release the Western Wall from the grip of the haredim."

But Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and the holy sites of Israel, released a statement condemning the women's group.

"As a place dear to the heart of every Jew, every movement, and every world view, the Western Wall must remain a place that unifies rather than separates the people of Israel. The different movements need to understand the complexity and sensitivity of the Western Wall, and leave it outside the borders of conflict," the statement from the rabbi's office said.

Efrat Weiss contributed to this report.

Comments

[who knows?]

Rabbi Rabinovits said: "different movements need to understand the complexity and sensitivity of the Western Wall, and leave it outside the borders of conflict,".

I hope he means that Haredim have to stop usurping all rights over the wall and setting all rules regarding it.

[danny]

I think that bowing (davening) to stones is a form of idolatry. Simple as that.

[Judah]

I am not concerned. Calling them "Christians" and "priest-lovers" may be a bit excessive, but the truth is that Israel is for the ingathering of the exiles. Whatever makes Christians and "neo-Christians" (to use R. Tendler's term) uncomfortable and not at home in Israel is good. Israel cannot be a multiple-cultural nation. It must be a Jewish nation. Similarly, whatever encourages Jews to leave exile and return to Eretz Y'Isroel is good, too. What is your excuse? And "the Gentiles pay better" isn't good enough.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Shmarya,
Instead of using the photo above of the relatively empty Men's Section, here are links to some good shots of women with tefillin and reading Torah from this morning.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=5053134&id=319876005672&fbid=348441510672

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=5053137&id=319876005672&fbid=348441530672

I don't see any of the women wearing braces.

[simon]

The men were disturbed by the mixed prayer taking place

What kind of mixed prayer was taking place? Were there men in the women's section or vice versa?

[critical minyan]

the sad part is that these guys actually believe that these women, who just wanna daven, are nazis. they are so fucked up by their education, that if they see someone who disagrees with them, they actually believe that the people want to put them in cattle cars and send them to gas chambers.
poor, poor people. nebich. they need to be totally un-brainwashed.

[Neo-Conservaguy]

So, what was the issue over this time? From the Facebook pictures it appears they didn't try to have the Torah reading in the main section but rather in the agreed upon area (the arch). If the only issue was that they were singing a reasonable service then I might have to side with the WOW on this one. It probably does bring up the issue of "noise pollution" between various services, but that's not a unique issue to WOW.

[Big Jew]

I find it rather ironic that these women, who are part of a movement that does not even aspire to see the Beit HaMikdosh rebuilt, and are, for the most part, NOT shomrot Shabbat or taharat ha mishpacha (which are laws they ARE, of course, obligated to observe), DO feel it necessary to put on talis and tefillin, which, of course, are NOT obligations for women. The reason, clearly, is that they are not doing this out of wanting to be ovaid Hashem, but for political/feminist purposes.

[Yair]

@ Big Jew,
With all due respect, you don't know anything about these women (and men who joined them). Nothing. You can make a guess on whether they keep Shabbos or Taharat haMishpacha, but why, when you could just as easily be wrong? I know plenty of Jews who affiliate with egalitarian congregations who are scrupulous with both Shabbos and taharat hamishpacha. The bottom line is none of us knows about their observance in the areas you mentioned any more than we know about your observance of Shabbos, tzitzit, tefillin, etc. And in the end, your argument is a straw man anyway. In the end, most of worldwide Jewry has a vested interest in the Kotel and the entire plaza not becoming a Haredi-controlled area. Although, come to think of it, maybe sense they effectively control it now, they should do something about the bochrim interrupting people's prayers to ask for money... have the decency to wait until people are done with their prayers at least. Tell me, which is more disturbing? To have guys in $150 fedoras interrupting one's prayers to ask for money (why is it ALWAYS for a bar mitzvah?!?), or having a mixed group in the plaza singing sacred words? It's a no-brainer here.

[eyesay]

The article says, "The conflict was halted during the reading of the Torah, when the worshippers moved to an area sanctified for women's prayer." Presumably, by "an area sanctified for women's prayer," the author means the area near Robinson's Arch where the Israeli government has specifically authorized women to read from the Torah and conduct services according to their Halacha. But the terminology is incorrect. The government of Israel can authorize the use of a place for a given activity, but it cannot sanctify the use of a place for a given activity. People sanctify places through belief, tradition and action. The main Kotel plaza is already sanctified for all forms of Jewish worship, including Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and Renewal worship. The Haredi have usurped control of the Kotel plaza and it is time to wrest that control away and return it to the greater community of all Jews to pray at the Kotel according to their own Halachot.

[A E ANDERSON]

I imagine that in the haredi view, tefilin for the feminists are just another kind of strap-on.

[Jakes]

We're just getting all kinds of bad press recently with Tropper & Women of the Wall. Hopefully this is an opportunity for us to reconsider which groups we give tzedakah to.

[Jay]

Maybe the Haredi militants will be reigned it when they start to get what they dish out. If the spit on someone, beat someone, burn property, throw rocks at someone-- then perhaps it's time to return the favor in full.

[Office of the Chief Rabbi]

Big Jew -
My mother-in-law z"L was one of the founders of WOW over a decade ago. She was indeed Shomeret Shabbat and shomeret T"H. Most of the founders way back when were, if not orthodox, at least orthoprax, i.e. ones who had grown up orthodox but had migrated to conservative shuls and had learning and synagogue skills.

Certainly over the years as the group and its supporters has expanded, many more religious liberals have joined. But from the photos, you can see the majority are not wearing talitot or tefillin. They just want to davven as a kehillah.

And while the Reformim may not want the rebuilding of the Beit HaMikdash, they acknowledge that for 2000 years Jewish prayer has been directed towards this spot, a spot that belongs to all of Am Yisrael, and not just the orthodox.

[Chayim]

Three months ago I was in Israel and I was at the kosel on a rainy friday morning when a hundred or so of these feministic rebels came with a sefer torah to instigate trouble. I joined with a hundred or so chareidim in yelling down these troublemakers. When you see these self hatingman hating women,non of the male bloggers would want them as a wife.Trust me. Many of them had the lesbian farbisina look and they were at the wall to cause trouble. One American chareidi guy yelled the best,he blamed them for the holocaust and warned that the arabs would get back the western wall because of these feminist anti Torah behavior. I was amazed as some soldiers without yarmulkas came over and told the chareidim that they agree with the chareidim. I call them not women of the wall but WOMEN OFF THE WALL.

[Jakes]

Chayim, you claim they came to instigate trouble. Yet what were you doing there I'd like to know? Instead of keeping to yourself and using the time for quiet prayer/reflection/whatever, you decide to go join in the commotion with the Charedim.

"Many of them had the lesbian farbisina look"

I'd rather a lesbian farbisina than a lot of those stout bald-headed frumas.

[eyesay]

Chayim: If you don't like Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, or Renewal services, don't attend them. But don't tell us non-haredi Jews how to pray or why we pray.

What, exactly, is "self-hating" about reading from the Torah? Anyway, I don't recall anything in the Torah that says anything like, "thou shalt not read aloud from this book if thou art a woman."

[eyesay]

Chayim: P.S. If you don't like Orthodox women-led or co-ed services, don't attend those either! But don't tell other Jews how to pray or why we pray.

[Dr. Dave]

Didn't Miriam the prophet lead women in song and prayer to Hashem in public?

[who knows?]

Haredis called WOW nazis no less! Which word are we suppose to use to identify real Nazis? Can we call them Haredi perhaps, since the word Nazi must be used now for the women who wish to pray at the Kotel?

[who knows?]

Haredis called WOW nazis no less! Which word are we suppose to use to identify real Nazis? Can we call them Haredi perhaps, since the word Nazi must be used now for the women who wish to pray at the Kotel?

[Chayim]

Dr. Dave
Miriam led the women in song but they carried along drums to drown out their voices so that the men will not hear it.
And as far as these women off the wall,they are nothing but troublemakers and instigators. They are basicly from the conservative heretical sect and most are American. Th e government of Israel knows that they are just rabble rousers without any just cause and thats why they were told to perk down and behave like humans not hordes of wild shrieking feminist.

[Yair]

If the women's voices were drowned out by drums, how do we have the words to their songs? Was G-d acting like a transcriptionist? Frankly I think the idea that men will be driven mad by lust if they hear women's voices just presents an image of men that makes me fear for my own daughters... and why is it just Jewish men that seem to have this problem? Certainly we aren't so beastly as that...