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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Life Women Wrap Tefillin Together — But Split Over Western Wall Compromise Deal
Huddled in the cold rain at the women’s section of the Western Wall Plaza, Anat Hoffman, veteran leader of Women of the Wall, removed her jacket, rolled up her long sleeves, and put on tefillin (phylacteries) for the first time in her life. Although she has been fighting for the right of women to pray…
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Fast Forward Muslims Reject Egalitarian Prayer Plan for Western Wall
The Waqf, the Islamic trust that oversees the Temple Mount, says it opposes an expanded egalitarian prayer area at the Western Wall. The Waqf has filed a complaint with the Israel Police and will consider other steps, The Associated Press reported Sunday, citing Omar Kiswani, director of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. The Muslim body lays…
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Opinion Kotel Plan Sends Strong Message to All Israelis — Especially Girls
As a member of Women of the Wall for more than 20 years, and as part of the group’s negotiating team, I believe that the creation of a third section of the Kotel sets a strong precedent in women’s status in Israel: women as administrators of a holy site, women as leaders, women as an…
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Fast Forward Orthodox Umbrella Group Denounces Western Wall Compromise as ‘Profane’
The approval of an egalitarian section of the Western Wall “profanes” the holy site, the haredi Orthodox group Agudath Israel of America said. “Designating an area at the Kotel Maaravi (Western Wall) for feminist and mixed-gender prayer not only profanes the holy site, it creates yet a further lamentable rift between Jews,” Agudah said in…
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Fast Forward Muslims Reject Egalitarian Prayer Plan for Western Wall
The Waqf, the Islamic trust that oversees the Temple Mount, says it opposes an expanded egalitarian prayer area at the Western Wall. The Waqf has filed a complaint with the Israel Police and will consider other steps, The Associated Press reported Sunday, citing Omar Kiswani, director of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. The Muslim body lays…
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Opinion Why New Kotel Plan Deserves a Cautious Hallelujah
The new plan to create a larger, official egalitarian space at the Western Wall is a compromise of a compromise. In all the celebration, we can’t lose sight of that. Those who believe in promoting and protecting pluralistic Judaism in Israel have every right to proclaim victory — a rare emotion after years of increasingly…
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Opinion Turning the Kotel Into a Haredi Synagogue Is Bad for Men, Too
Reading the substance of the new Western Wall deal, described in a news report posted by the Forward as a is heartbreaking. As Shulamit Magnus rightly argues in the Jerusalem Post, the Kotel is not now, nor has it ever been, a synagogue. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz is not the Wall’s mara de’atra (“master of the…
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Opinion Why the Kotel Compromise Just Isn’t Good Enough
When I woke to the news about the new policy for the Kotel, I was surprised to see so many of my friends celebrating. I suppose I should be, too: I’ve been wearing tefillin since I was bat mitzvahed over a decade ago. In that time, I have been to Israel twice, first with my…
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