Men and women who want to pray together at one of the holiest sites in Judaism could have trouble finding the one spot where that is allowed, now that Jerusalem officials removed a sign marking a small egalitarian platform south of the traditional Western Wall. The East Jerusalem Development Authority took down a sign for…
JERUSALEM — Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky slammed a Knesset bill that would prevent non-Orthodox public prayer at the Western Wall. Sharansky, who led the negotiations on the egalitarian measure along with outgoing Cabinet secretary Avichai Mandelblit, slammed the new proposal, said the measure would torpedo the agreement in January for an egalitarian prayer section at…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed coalition politics for the delay in implementing a deal reached earlier this year to create a designated prayer section for non-Orthodox worshipers at the Western Wall. “Anti-Semitism is a fringe element in the United States,whether on the right or the left,” said Netanyahu. “I don’t think it…
Jerusalem — Those who know Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu far better than I do said that the real Bibi was on display as he addressed the International Jewish Media Summit in Jerusalem Tuesday night. In that case, Netanyahu — the only Israeli elected prime minister three times in a row, the man who says…
Jerusalem — Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was the first major elected official to speak at the International Jewish Media Summit, which opened Sunday night in Jerusalem, and he encapsulated the challenge facing his country as it tries to connect more substantively with the Jewish diaspora. The challenge is this: I’m not sure he gets it. Rivlin,…
The women’s section of Jerusalem’s Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, looked a bit like a rugby pitch the morning of December 1 as devout women collapsed into a scrum of long skirts, prayer shawls and repeated shrieks of “Call the police, now!” Some of the women, who call themselves “Women of the Wall”…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Members and supporters of the Women of the Wall organization were subjected to body searches at the entrance to the Western Wall Plaza. The women also were disturbed Thursday during their monthly prayer service marking the start of the new Jewish month by haredi Orthodox women at the site who loudly blew whistles….
JERUSALEM — The Sephardi Orthodox Shas Party has proposed a bill that would prevent any kind of non-Orthodox public prayer at the Western Wall. Under the draft bill, announced by Shas late on Monday, a fine of some $2,500 or a six-month prison sentence would be levied on those taking part in egalitarian prayer services…
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