Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Western Wall, also called the Kotel, a Jewish holy site in Jerusalem adjacent to the Temple Mount.
Western Wall
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Israel News Jerusalem Officials Remove Sign to Egalitarian Plaza at Western Wall
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…
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Fast Forward Natan Sharansky Slams Bill Banning Non-Orthodox Prayer at Western Wall
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…
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Fast Forward Benjamin Netanyahu Says Western Wall Prayer Deal ‘Going To Take Time’
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…
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Opinion The ‘Real’ Benjamin Netanyahu Shows Brusque Side — and Steps on His Own Message
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…
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Opinion Does Israel’s President Still Not Get How Vital the Kotel Is to Diaspora Jews?
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,…
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News WATCH: At Western Wall, One Woman Puts Another in a Chokehold
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”…
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Fast Forward Women of the Wall Subjected to Body Searches at Western Wall Prayer Service
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….
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Fast Forward Orthodox Aim To Kill Western Wall Deal With Bill To Bar Non-Orthodox Prayer
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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