Jewish law states that a court may not hear one side of an argument without the other party being present. If anyone should want to judge anything, they must listen to both sides of the argument, and only then can they find the truth. Many have written that the Charedi community ought to be ashamed…
On the morning of March 28, the first day of the Jewish month of Nisan, the Women of the Wall will once again gather at the Western Wall for a women-led Rosh Chodesh (new month) service. Once there, the women will likely face an charedi Jewish mob intent on suppressing, or at the very least…
The feminist prayer group Women of the Wall filed a petition with the Israeli High Court today to demand protection during its prayer services at the Western Wall holy site, the group said. Their petition was filed against the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which administers the site, and its head, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz. The petition…
A version of this piece originally appeared in Plus61J, an Australian Jewish publication. “If a society uses language that doesn’t have gendered forms, is that society more egalitarian?” The question from Professor Tsvia Walden, psycholinguist, peace ambassador and daughter of the late Shimon Peres, met with a thoughtful silence from the cohort of 14-year-olds at…
For years, women in Israel have been fighting for the right to pray out loud at Judaism’s holiest site, the Western Wall, just like men. But now, a group of girls has risen up to defend the status quo. On Tuesday, February 28, at least 1,000 female high school students were bused there to protest…
Women are used to being silenced. Women are used to having their ideas belittled and their success made to seem unimportant. Today I went to the Kotel to join Women of the Wall — whose only goal was to make our voices heard—in prayer, at the holiest site in modern Judaism. I joined a service…
A Western Wall bat mitzvah on Monday morning was interrupted by whistling protesters who sought to disrupt the coming-of-age ceremony. Twelve-year-old Hod Hasharon native Noa Brenner celebrated her bat mitzvah at the monthly prayer service of Women of the Wall, a feminist group advocating for egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall holy site. According to…
A right-wing Orthodox group announced a protest against Women of the Wall at the feminist group’s upcoming prayer service next week with a dramatic video calling on supporters to end the “debasement” of the Western Wall. Women of the Wall said that video “all but calls for violence against Women of the Wall,” in a…
100% of profits support our journalism
