JERUSALEM (JTA) — A plan to expand the Western Wall’s egalitarian prayer section received final approval, using a special regulation to authorize the work in order to make it a handicapped-accessible site. The approval was first reported late Sunday in Haaretz, which did not say when the meeting to approve the work took place. Approval…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The large stone that fell from the Western Wall to the egalitarian prayer plaza was removed for examination and preservation. A crane was used by the Israel Antiquities Authority on Wednesday morning to remove the stone, which weighs about 400 pounds. It was transferred to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which will…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A large stone dislodged from egalitarian section of the Western Wall and crashed down on one of the platforms designated for mixed prayer. The incident on Monday morning came less than a day after the prayer platform known as the Ezrat Yisrael near Robinson’s Arch at the southern end of the wall…
(JTA) — Haredi protesters burned a Jewish prayer book near the Western Wall in Jerusalem to protest the actions of female worshipers seeking greater freedom at the holy site. The incident Friday occurred as nearly 200 Women of the Wall activists arrived for their monthly prayer service at the Western Wall in celebration of the…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli government minister whose approval is needed to advance the plan for the Western Wall’s egalitarian section has dropped her support for the proposal. Miri Regev, the culture and sport minister, announced in a Facebook post late Wednesday that she would not approve the plan in her position as chairwoman of the…
It is Rosh Chodesh Iyar, and over one hundred women have come prepared with Israeli flags and strong singing voices. After a last-minute deliberation, we made the decision to enter the dreaded metal “cage” (the barriers set up for Women of the Wall for the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and police, “quarantining” us on the…
A prominent Israeli rabbi who is also a convicted sex offender was allowed during Passover to drive his car directly into the Western Wall plaza — an honor that is only permitted for the religion’s greatest leaders. Rabbi Eliezer Berland, accompanied by dancing and praying followers running alongside him, was driven through security checkpoints and…
JERUSALEM (JTA) — U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman joined hundreds of kohanim, or members of the priestly class, in blessing tens of thousands of worshippers at the Western Wall. Friedman was joined by his son and grandson in the Birkat Kohanim, or priestly blessing, raising their hands and blessing the worshippers, including many visitors…
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