Western Wall Heckling Worse For Women At Monthly Service
Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — More than 100 women who assembled for the Women of the Wall’s monthly Rosh Chodesh service at the Western Wall faced more intense heckling than ever, the group said.
The women, who smuggled in a small Torah scroll for the service, were attacked verbally and physically, the group said in a statement issued Monday, hours after the service in the women’s section of the Western Wall plaza.
Young girls and women with their faces covered whistled, shouted, spit at and cursed the worshippers in an effort to shut down the service, which was held behind police barriers at the back of the women’ section. Men also chanted, jeered and yelled vulgarities to drown out the women’s prayers, shouting invective such as “Reform are worse than ISIS,” and “Reform go home,” according to the Women of the Wall. Some women also said they were shoved by security guards and had to dodge water bottles thrown at them.
The group also said that prayers from the men’s side were broadcast by a loudspeaker that is usually used only for special services such as the priestly blessing or on Tisha B’Av, and that the loudspeakers were purposely aimed at the women’s section.
“It seems like the State prefers cursing, jeering and whistling over women’s prayer,” said Women of the Wall chair Anat Hoffman.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
