Women of the Wall tried to bring a menorah to the Kotel (Western Wall) tonight, but the Kotel's guards, who work for the Kotel's state-employed haredi rabbi, wouldn't let them bring it in. Police also were involved in violation of the law and of the attorney general's legal opinion. But a female Member of Knesset, Ksenia Svetlova, used her parliamentary immunity to get the menorah (which is much smaller than the large menorah used in the official but illegal gender-segregated state ceremony in the men's section) into the women's section. And Israel's right-wing government is yet again silent as the law is broken by haredim in its name.
The official state candlelighting ceremony held tonight with the prime minister:
Women of the Wall's unofficial ceremony held tonight – but only after a Member of Knesset intervened:
If the video doesn't load or won't play, watch it here.
The official state video shows one lone female soldier standing behind Prime Minister Netanyahu and the haredi rabbi of the Kotel, Shmuel Rabinowitz. All the other women are either behind the fence at that back of the prayer area or on the other side of the mechitza (in this case, a tall completely closed fence) separating the men's prayer area from the women's prayer area. This means Netanyahu fully cooperated in Rabinowitz's illegal behavior. It also means Netanyahu lied to American Jewish leaders last month when he spoke at the Federation's General Assembly:
[Hat Tip: Joel Katz.]