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
-
Opinion ‘War’ With Ultra-Orthodox Over Western Wall? Bring It On
My first reaction to the ugly confrontation at the Western Wall on Friday was to be appalled and sickened. Attacks carried out mostly by ultra-Orthodox men, who heckled, shouted, and threw things at approximately 100 members of Women of the Wall attempting to pray at Judaism’s most sacred site, were a chillul Hashem, a desecration…
-
News Palestinians Mourn Neighborhood Razed by Israel in Shadow of Western Wall
Many Israelis marked the 46th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification, as they see it, with the fanfare that has become a staple of Jerusalem Day, the holiday first declared by the government in 1968 to mark the historic event. The May 8 celebration, which Israel’s chief rabbinate has also declared a religious holiday, was punctuated by…
-
Fast Forward Western Wall’s Many Planned Jewish Makeovers — And Why They Died
In 1990 El Al Israel Airlines caused, indirectly, great embarrassment to Israel with an advertisement that appeared in its in-flight magazine at the time, IsraELAL. The ad, for the jewelry company NDC, appeared on the back cover, and featured an image of the Third Temple in the center of the Temple Mount plaza. The Dome…
-
Fast Forward Tzipi Livni Defends Women’s Egalitarian Prayer at Western Wall
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told Religious Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett on Wednesday night she would not support changes to the law governing the holy sites that he is promoting to limit the activities of Women of the Wall. Livni told Bennett that such amendments required the justice minister’s approval. The regulations Bennett is working on…
-
Fast Forward Plan To Allow Women’s Prayer at Western Wall Threatens Archeological Treasures
The Jerusalem Archaeological Park and Davidson Center, located south of the Western Wall, is widely considered the most important archaeological site in the country − the site which perhaps best embodies the destruction of the Temple. Enormous stones that formed the upper tiers of this wall prior to the destruction lie on top of each…
-
Fast Forward Half of Israelis Back Women of the Wall
More Israelis support Women of the Wall in their quest to win the right to pray at the Kotel, compared to those who don’t, a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute shows. The poll, conducted among a representative sample of 600 Israelis ages 18 and above, found that 48 percent support the right of Women…
-
Opinion Kotel Miracle: No Stone Throwers Killed by Cops
There must have been divine intervention at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Friday, when no one was killed or injured by the volley of police fire that surely must have been unleashed at the rioters who threw stones at Jewish worshipers that morning. If memory serves, that is what the police do when people…
-
Fast Forward The Day Women of Wall Gained Legitimacy in Jewish World
The Women of the Wall left the site feeling elated. Two human chains of policemen opened paths on the left and on the right, surrounded by an ocean of Haredi men and women. As they walked, the women, wrapped in prayer shawls, sang Ozi v’Zimrat Yah Vayahi li lishuah, a song marking the Sivan Rosh…
Most Popular
- 1
Film & TV The new ‘Superman’ is being called anti-Israel, but does that make it pro-Palestine?
- 2
Fast Forward Tucker Carlson calls for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army
- 3
Opinion This German word explains Trump’s authoritarian impulses — and Hitler’s rise to power
- 4
News Meet the Jews who helped elect Zohran Mamdani
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward ‘Passover Coke’ could become obsolete as Trump says Coca-Cola will use ‘REAL’ sugar in US soda
-
Film & TV Shari had a little lamb — and changed the world with her
-
Fast Forward Syrian detente hopes dim as president accuses Israel of sowing ‘chaos and destruction’ with strikes
-
Fast Forward Israel is so concerned about homegrown Iranian spies it is launching a PR campaign to dissuade them
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism