Crisis Averted! Ivanka And Melania Trump Pray At Women’s Section Of Western Wall

President Trump at the Western Wall, May 22, 2017 Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman May 22, 2017

President Trump at the Western Wall, May 22, 2017 Image by Getty Images

On Monday, Donald Trump became the first U.S. president to visit the Western Wall while in office.

Trump, after hearing a lengthy explanation from the Western Wall’s rabbi, walked solemnly to the wall and stood by the ancient remain of the Jewish temple for about a minute. He then followed the Jewish tradition and inserted a note into the crevice of the wall.

Trump’s wife Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner stood alongside the president as he listened to the explanation at the entrance plaza, but when it came time for prayer at the wall, the group split up. President Trump walked by himself to the wall, while his wife and daughter were taken to the separated part of the wall designated for women’s prayer.

This put an end to speculation, and some concern among Orthodox leaders in Israel, that the first lady and daughter would choose to pray alongside the president at the men’s section, thus breaking the rules set by Israel’s Orthodox rabbinate, which mandates gender segregation at the wall.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter, @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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