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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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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Israel News Religious Rift Deepens Between Israel and Diaspora
Chances for de-escalation between Israel’s religious establishment and non-Orthodox movements in Israel and North America appear increasingly unlikely as new developments pile atop old ones adding layers of injury. Today, events seem to be careening toward a perfect storm. In recent weeks alone, the government has made clear that it intends to renege, for the…
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Community My Saddest Day in Israel Came at the Western Wall
The Kotel (the Western Wall), located in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, is unquestionably the holiest place in the world for the Jewish people. The remaining piece, the retaining wall of the Second Temple, is the place toward which Jews have prayed for as long as there have been a Jewish people….
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