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
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News The harassers are loud. The Women of the Wall choir aims to be louder.
A battle of acoustics is playing out at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, the holiest place in the world for Jews. Traditionalists believe the Torah forbids women from singing in public — even at the Wall’s women’s section — and those who dare sing are often harassed. “People come with hundreds of whistles to drown out our…
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Fast Forward Israeli museum shutters its doors after 47 artists ask to remove their work
A museum near Tel Aviv, which first opened nearly 35 years ago, has ceased operations after failing to reach an agreement with 47 artists who accused the museum — and the city — of censorship, and demanded that their work be removed. The artists had asked The Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art to reverse…
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Fast Forward The Jewish Agency will carry your High Holiday prayer to the Western Wall
The Jewish Agency for Israel is gathering prayers from Jews across the globe to place amid the stones of the Western Wall during the High Holiday season. Though COVID-19 has led to travel restrictions and limited access to the holy site, the Agency is helping worshippers keep the centuries-old tradition alive from the safety of…
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The Schmooze ‘Sorry, Not Sorry’: Demi Lovato Visits Western Wall, Sings With Israelis
Sing with us! What’s wrong with bein’ — what’s wrong with bein’ — what’s wrong with being con-secrated? “Confident” singer Demi Lovato visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem this week. The lovable diva, whose powerful vocals and public vulnerability have made her a particularly endearing star, is not in Israel for a tour or performance….
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Fast Forward Likud Politician Offers Deal That Would Nix Egalitarian Prayer At Western Wall
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Likud lawmaker close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered to prevent egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall in exchange for a small ultranationalist faction dropping out ahead of this month’s Knesset election. The move would anger non-Orthodox Jews in Israel and the Diaspora, for whom the right to pray at…
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Fast Forward 104-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Celebrates Birthday At Kotel With 400 Descendants
A 104-year-old Holocaust survivor wanted to celebrate her birthday by praying with her descendants at the Western Wall — and 400 people showed up, leading to a massively viral photo, the Algemeiner reported. For her 104th birthday, Shoshana Ovitz had initially asked her eldest granddaughter, Panini Friedman for “a list of all the grandchildren and…
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Fast Forward Nikki Haley, Israel’s Sweetheart, Visits The Western Wall
In the United States, Nikki Haley is known as a Republican former governor and former ambassador to the United Nations. In Israel, she’s a “superstar” celebrity who has received the red-carpet treatment on her current visit, The Jerusalem Post reported. Indeed, Haley’s image was recently painted on a mural in Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda market. Prime…
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The Schmooze Jenny Mollens Got Bat Mitzvahed At The Western Wall, In A Shawl Embroidered With Her Dog’s Name
Today, in news our ancestors couldn’t have dreamed of: Jewish comedian Jenny Mollen approached the mixed-gender prayer space at the Western Wall, holding a Torah and wearing a sheer tallis-like shawl, embroidered with the name of her deceased dog, “Teets.” It was her 40th birthday, and she was having her bat mitzvah. View this post…
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