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 Netanyahu Says He Chose ‘Practical Path’ On Western Wall Prayer
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said when it comes to egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, he chose a practical approach over one that would touch on deep symbolism. Netanyahu met with a small group of Jewish representatives Sunday and sought to explain away his government’s decision to renege on an agreement setting a prayer section…
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Fast Forward Netanyahu Meets With Jewish Leaders — Snubs Critics
Avoiding a showdown with Jewish American leaders fuming over the his decision to backtrack on a settlement establishing a egalitarian prayer area in the Western Wall, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in New York Saturday only with a select group of non-critical Jewish leaders. The meeting, which took place Saturday evening at Netanyahu’s hotel,…
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Fast Forward The Top 10 Moments That Mattered To Jews In 5777
(JTA) — This Jewish year was not a quiet one, to say the least. From the tumultuous first eight months of Donald Trump’s presidency, to a wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers, to a neo-Nazi protest in Charlottesville that turned violent, to the twin weather catastrophes of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Jews, like…
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Fast Forward Israeli High Court: Gov. Must Reinstate Kotel Deal Or Explain Why It Won’t
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to either reinstate the Western Wall agreement with non-Orthodox groups or explain why it should not force the state to honor the deal. “One can’t help but ask ‘What exactly happened here?’” Chief Justice Miriam Naor said at a hearing Thursday. “There was an agreement,…
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Opinion I Was Forced To Lift My Skirt To Pray At The Kotel
It was Wednesday morning of finals week. The thought of waking up at 5:30 AM was not the most thrilling of thoughts; but, Rosh Chodesh aligns with the cycle of the moon, not with the cycle of my school year. I had committed to welcoming in Elul at the Kotel with my Hebrew Union College-Jewish…
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Fast Forward Netanyahu: Body Searches Of Women At Western Wall ‘Unacceptable’
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Body searches of female worshipers at the entrance to the Western Wall are “unacceptable,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Netanyahu asked Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan to look into accusations that at least four female rabbinical students were subject to body searches while attempting to enter the Western Wall Plaza,…
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Fast Forward Reform Leaders: Netanyahu Must Denounce Kotel Body Searches Of Female Rabbis
(JTA) — Leaders of the Reform movement in the United States called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “issue a swift and clear denunciation” of the demeaning body searches of four female rabbinic students at the Western Wall. The students from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, on Wednesday were asked to lift…
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Fast Forward Female Rabbinic Students ‘Strip Searched’ By Western Wall Security
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Four female students from Hebrew Union College, including two Americans, were asked to lift their shirts and skirts for security before being allowed to enter the Western Wall plaza. The women were part of a group of 15 rabbinical, cantorial and Jewish education students from North America and Australia who joined about…
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