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
The Latest
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Israel News Reform Jews Kick Off Letter-Writing Campaign on Western Wall Prayer
The Union for Reform Judaism has kicked off a letter writing campaign to the Israeli government to pressure it to implement its plan for an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall Jewish holy site. Timed with the Jewish New Year, the organization is urging supporters to email a pre-written letter to Israeli Prime Minister…
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Fast Forward Hundreds of Letters to God Delivered to Western Wall Ahead of High Holy Days
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Hundreds of letters addressed to “God,” Our Heavenly Father” and other monikers, as well as to the Kotel, were delivered to the Western Wall. The letters, which usually arrive without a return address and are sent to the Israel Post Lost and Found Department, are delivered before the Jewish high holidays to…
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Fast Forward Israelis and Americans Back Non-Orthodox Conversion — and Pluralism at Kotel
— A large majority of American and Israeli Jews say Israel should recognize marriages and conversions performed by Reform and Conservative rabbis. A poll conducted by The Jerusalem Post and the American Jewish Committee found that 74 percent of American Jews and 62 percent of Israeli Jews believe the non-Orthodox rites should be recognized. The findings…
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Fast Forward Judges Slam Israeli Government for Refusing To Implement Western Wall Prayer Deal
Israeli Supreme Court justices chastised the government for not implementing the government’s plan to create an ecumenical prayer section at the Western Wall. Monday’s hearing was in response to a 3-year-old petition complaining about the treatment of egalitarian worshippers at the site. At the hearing, the justices called for the plan to be implemented. The…
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Israel News Will Police Protect Women of the Wall From Orthodox ‘Bullies’?
Women of the Wall, the group agitating for women’s prayer rights at the Western Wall, said it feared a violent encounter with ultra-Orthodox protesters at its upcoming regular monthly prayer service after it was told that the group’s protection falls not to the police but to the ushers who help administer the site. WOW founder…
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Opinion What They Confiscated from My Daughter at the Western Wall
This is not a story about Women of the Wall. That is a story for someone else to tell. So many women have been dedicated to that cause for so many years. I am just a sometimes joiner. A tourist, if you will. But my daughters really wanted to go. So, despite my dislike of…
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The Schmooze MazelTov: Jeremy Piven Becomes A Man — Again — On Trip to Israel
Jeremy Piven is a bar mitzvah boy — again. Last week, at a private ceremony overlooking the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Piven — star of “Entourage” and “Mr. Selfridge” — celebrated his second bar mitzvah, surrounded by his friends Omri Casspi and Amar’e Stoudemire. He posted a picture to his Instagram account, writing, “Today I…
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News WATCH: Ultra-Orthodox Protestors Heckle Praying ‘Women of the Wall’ Members
Protestors greeted Women of the Wall participants with curses, heckling and disruptive whistle blowing during their monthly prayer Friday morning at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Approximately ten ultra-Orthodox female protestors gathered around the women, blowing whistles and yelling “Burn alive!” and “Whores!” while police officers stood on the sidelines, according to a press release…
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