Half of Israelis Back Women of the Wall
Image by getty images
More Israelis support Women of the Wall in their quest to win the right to pray at the Kotel, compared to those who don’t, a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute shows.
The poll, conducted among a representative sample of 600 Israelis ages 18 and above, found that 48 percent support the right of Women of the Wall to pray as they see fit, wearing a prayer shawl and phylacteries and reciting their prayers out loud, whereas 38 percent said they did not support this right.
Rather surprisingly, the poll found that men are more inclined to support the women’s prayer group than are women.
According to the poll, conducted a week before last Friday’s violent clashes at the Western Wall, when ultra-Orthodox teens hurled stones, chairs and water bottles at Women of the Wall supporters and activists as they held their monthly prayer service there, this support has grown stronger since the Jerusalem District Court ruled two weeks ago that it is not a violation of “local custom” for women to wear prayer shawls and phylacteries at the holy site.
For more, go to Haaretz
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
