Western Wall facts for kids

The Western Wall, Wailing Wall or Kotel (Hebrew: הַכֹּתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi; Arabic: حائط البراق; Ḥā'iṭ Al-Burāq) is an ancient wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on the western side of the Temple Mount. According to Jewish tradition this wall is a remnant of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It is the most holy site for Jews

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Photographs

Images for kids

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  Herodian ashlars of the Western Wall

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  Panorama of the Western Wall with the Dome of the Rock (left) and al-Aqsa mosque (right) in the background

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  Wailing Wall, Jerusalem, by Gustav Bauernfeind (19th century).

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  The Western Wall in c. 1870, squeezed in by houses of the Moroccan Quarter, a century before they were demolished

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  Jews' Wailing Place, Jerusalem, 1891

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  Jewish Legion soldiers at the Western Wall after British conquest of Jerusalem, 1917

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  The placing of a Mechitza similar to the one in the picture was the catalyst for confrontation between the Arabs, Jews and Mandate authorities in 1928.

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  British police post at the entrance to the Western Wall, 1933

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  Members of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry at the Western Wall, 1946

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  The iconic image of Israeli soldiers shortly after the capture of the Wall during the Six-Day War

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  Moroccan Quarter (cell J9) surrounding the Western Wall (numbered 62) in the 1947 Survey of Palestine map. The two mosques demolished after 1967 are shown in red.

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  Torah Ark inside men's section of Wilson's Arch

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  Asst. U.S. Sixth Fleet Chaplain Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff leads an unusual interfaith service

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  The remains of Robinson's Arch above excavated remnants of the ancient street below.

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  Jews at the Western Wall, 1870s

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  Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall, 1970s

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  Women at prayer, early 20th century

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  The separate areas for men (top) and women, seen from the walkway to the Dome of the Rock

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  Azarat Yisrael Plaza (prayer platform), Robinson's Arch, opened August 2013

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  Slips of paper containing prayers in the cracks of the Wall

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  South-west corner of the Haram from the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem, 1865)

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  A Jew praying at the Western Wall

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  Western Wall and Dome of the Rock

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  U.S. president Donald Trump (right) visits the Western Wall, accompanied by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch (center), 2017