This is 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
The Latest
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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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Fast Forward Jewish Federations Demand Implementation of Western Wall Prayer Deal
— The Jewish Federations of North America board of trustees sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscoring the “growing sense of urgency” on the part of American Jews to see the agreement to create an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall fully implemented. The letter was approved by the board on…
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Israel News At Western Wall, GOP’s Man in Israel Writes Thank-You Note to God
The head of Israel’s Republicans gave thanks for Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election at the Western Wall on Tuesday, seeing a divine hand in the businessman’s defeat of Hillary Clinton. “I feel fantastic and very grateful and I came here to thank God for the miracle that he performed for us yesterday,” Marc…
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Fast Forward Benjamin Netanyahu Ally Wants To Scrap Western Wall Prayer Deal
JERUSALEM — The head of the Knesset Interior Committee called for the Israeli government to cancel the Western Wall egalitarian prayer agreement, saying “It’s not the end of the world if American Jews get offended.” David Amsalem of the ruling Likud party made the remarks during a committee meeting Tuesday on implementing the deal. Prior…
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Israel News Fierce Clashes Erupt as Non-Orthodox Rabbis Carry Torah Scrolls to Western Wall
Unprecedented clashes broke out at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Wednesday morning as hundreds of protesters from around the world, led by a delegation of prominent Reform and Conservative rabbis, marched in protest of the government’s failure to create an egalitarian prayer space at the holy site. The rabbis carried Torah scrolls into the…
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