This is not the future of Jerusalem
A provocation organized by the radical feminist group Women of the Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem set off clashes Wednesday morning when the group attempted to set up a de facto Reform prayer site in the Western Wall plaza, in violation of the status quo at the holy site.
A procession organized by the Women of the Wall, made up largely of members of the Reform and Conservative movements, entered the plaza at around 6:30 a.m., marching through as local worshippers who were in the midst of Rosh Chodesh prayers said at the beginning of a new month in the Hebrew calendar.
The Western Wall Heritage Center released a statement saying “We are prepared to take legal action against anyone who violates the law, as per the instructions we received from the Attorney General. We regret that this group is disturbing the worshipers and causing problems for the Prime Minister, who is trying to find a solution (to the issue). These radical groups are making it harder to find a solution, not easier.”
The Women of the Wall Show
The painful fact is that in some ways, Christianity is more ‘Jewish’ than the Reform Movement.
If Ms. Hoffman, (chairwoman,Women of the Wall) were to behave as a true Reform Jew should, she would respect the wishes of the Orthodox and seek to ‘do her own thing’ without infringing on the feelings of the other worshipers at the Wall. If her intentions were pure, she would welcome any sort of compromise.
However, she refuses to do that and on the contrary, is behaving in such a way as to be as provocative and offensive as possible in order to pursue her political agenda.
Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee says permit to work on expanded egalitarian section has expired, new request necessary.
Arutz Sheva Staff, 30December2018 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/256918
A new document issued by Deputy Jerusalem Municipality Attorney Ze’ev Gabai at the District Planning and Building Committee states that the building project in the southern square of the Western Wall cannot be approved and that the request should be rejected.
This document means that from a legal point of view it is impossible to continue advancing the plan to expand the egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall in the District Committee, and a new planning process should be initiated and a new request must be made.
The document states that the Jerusalem Municipality and the local licensing authority believe that it is impossible to renew the permit for expansion because it has already expired and no work has begun on the ground. “Accordingly, the date on which it is possible to renew it is past,” the document says.
“As explained in the letter of the Director of the Licensing and Supervision Department, Mr. Ofir May, dated December 3, 2018, the actual construction does not conform to the building permit and the applicants for the permit in meetings with the municipal engineer and his team, declared that they intend to work on a different plan than that allowed by the permit (construction in accordance with an architectural plan to improve accessibility that requires the issuance of a separate building permit),” The document also stated that the municipality’s position is consistent with the position of the new mayor, Moshe Leon.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, through his representative on the committee, is currently seeking to advance the approval of the building, but it is possible that the committee, which is conducting its deliberations behind closed doors, will be forced not to allow the continuation of work there.
Jerusalem Cats Comment:
To the Reform, Conservative movements leaders and the ‘Women of the Wall’; You have to follow the law and the rules and our Holy Jewish Torah leaders. Maybe the Dispara Reform and Conservative leaders need to have their Passports stamped “Persona Non Grata” thereby being banned from coming to Israel for 5 years. As for the ‘Women of the Wall’, they need a Distancing Order from Jerusalem. The ‘Women of the Wall’ need to be treated like the troublemakers they are.
Noted archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar describes the severity of damage caused by construction of ‘egalitarian’ prayer space at Western Wall.
Hezki Baruch, 22November2016 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/220689
The Knesset Education Committee held a meeting today regarding damage caused to important archaeological findings as a result of construction aimed at creating an “egalitarian” prayer space at the Western Wall to cater to demands of the Reform Movement.
Speaking with Arutz Sheva, respected Jerusalem archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar who excavated the Ophel area nearby described the severity of damage already caused, and efforts to stop the construction so as to prevent future damage.
Mazar explained that ancient remains being damaged in the archeological complex under Robinson’s Arch near the Western Wall are one-of-a-kind. “We’re talking about the only surviving remains from the original fall of the Second Temple as it was destroyed by the Romans, [the rock slabs that] they knocked onto the original street near the Western Wall that existed during the Second Temple. This is the only place that we can show such an important and defining chapter in the history of Jerusalem, in the history of the Jewish People as it existed during the Second Temple.”
Mazar said that the construction has caused serious damage: “They turned the site into a pile of garbage. It’s just unbelievable what they did there. We need to remove what they did there and leave the entire archaeological complex alone.”
In court, the O-WOW attorney says, in effect, that the Kotel should be a tourist site, not a prayer site.
Arutz Sheva Staff, 01January2017 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/222570
In court last week, Dr. Susan Weiss, attorney for the “Original Women of the Wall” (O-WOW), admitted that advocating for women’s rights is not the main objective of the group.
Their day in court revealed a different interest. Judge Elyakim Rubenstein asked their lead attorney, Dr. Susan Weiss, what sort of alternative site might be acceptable to the group. She replied that in her view, none was necessary. Rubenstein then asked what she would do, were it up to her. Her response was:
“In actuality, there wouldn’t be a Mechitzah (gender divider partition, ed.) there at all, and I would send all of them to their synagogue. Perhaps I would earmark certain hours for them… It needs to be a public plaza. ‘All of them’ includes both observant women and those women who want to wear tzitzis (ritual fringes).”
She went on to say that the Wall is not a synagogue, and should not be treated that way. Rather than arguing that women should have Torah scrolls at the Wall, she in essence argued that no one should. Orthodox men, too, would not pray if there is no partition.
Leah Aharoni is co-founder of Women For the Wall, an organization created by women who pray at the Wall regularly and object, as do many others including haredi and religious Zionist women, to the disturbances created by O-WOW and Women of the Wall (WOW). “This confirms what we have said from the beginning,” she said. “They are not advocating for women’s rights. Rather, they want to deny observant Jews the ability to pray at the Wall.”
Neither, she argued, is their suggestion offensive only to the observant Jews who stream to the Wall on a daily basis. “For most visitors,” she said, “the idea that they can go to the Wall at any hour of the day or night, any time of the year, and find people pouring out their hearts to G-d… that is a critical part of the experience.”
This experience would be denied to millions of Jews, if the members of O-WOW were to have their way. |
Shirat Devorah