Women of the Wall facts for kids
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נשות הכותל
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| Type | Nonprofit |
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| Purpose | Women's rights advocacy |
| Headquarters | Israel |
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Region served
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Israel |
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President
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Anat Hoffman |
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Staff
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7 |
Women of the Wall (in Hebrew: נשות הכותל, Neshot HaKotel) is a group of Jewish women in Israel. Their main goal is to make sure women have the right to pray at the Western Wall, also known as the Kotel. They want to pray in a way that includes singing, reading from the Torah (Jewish holy book), and wearing religious clothing like the tallit (prayer shawl), tefillin (small leather boxes with scripture), and kippah (skullcap).
The Western Wall is a very important and holy place for Jewish people. However, the Rabbi in charge of the Western Wall has set rules. These rules include separating men and women and limiting what religious clothes women can wear.
When the Women of the Wall hold their monthly prayer services, they do keep men and women separate. This allows their Orthodox members to join. But their way of praying, especially wearing religious clothes, singing, and reading from a Torah, has upset many in the Orthodox Jewish community. This has led to protests and even arrests.
In May 2013, a judge decided that an older ruling from 2003 had been misunderstood. This meant that Women of the Wall prayer gatherings at the Wall should not be seen as illegal. In January 2016, the Israeli government approved a plan for a new prayer area at the Kotel. This area would be open to everyone, men and women praying together, and would not be controlled by the traditional Rabbinate. The Women of the Wall liked this idea. However, this plan faced strong opposition and was later put on hold in June 2017.
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What the Group Does
The Women of the Wall group includes women from different Jewish traditions, like Reform, Conservative, and modern-Orthodox. Since 1988, they have been fighting for their right to pray at the Western Wall. Many Orthodox worshippers at the site find their presence offensive. This has led to many court cases to solve the issue.
For example, in 1989, some Orthodox men threw chairs and shouted insults at the women because they were singing. Police even had to use tear gas to stop the violence. In 2009, the first woman was arrested for praying while wearing a tallit. The Orthodox religious leaders in Israel see the Women of the Wall's efforts as an attempt to change their influence and bring more religious freedom to Israel.
The Orthodox community's main concern comes from their religious laws, called Halacha. They believe the Western Wall area should be like an Orthodox synagogue. In Orthodox Judaism, women are not allowed to form a minyan (a group of ten adults needed for certain prayers). Even though the women do not claim to be forming a minyan, this has not calmed the Orthodox community.
Initially, the group did not get support from Israel's main Orthodox religious leaders. Supporters of the Women of the Wall point out that Israel is one of the only places where Jewish women are stopped from praying in public according to their customs.
How It Started
The Women of the Wall group began in December 1988. This was during the first International Jewish Feminist Conference held in Jerusalem. On December 1, 1988, a group of 70 women from different Jewish backgrounds went to pray at the Western Wall. They carried a Torah scroll, and a female Rabbi led the service.
After the conference, a group of women in Jerusalem decided to keep meeting at the Kotel. They formed the Women of the Wall to fight for their right to pray there freely. The group has been in many legal battles to be allowed to hold organized prayers at the Kotel.
The government was asked to provide police protection for the women. After some time, the Ministry of Religion decided that only prayer following the "custom of the place" would be allowed. They also said that the feelings of other worshippers should not be offended. The Women of the Wall then asked the Supreme Court to recognize their right to pray at the Wall.
The legal fights continued for many years. In 1996, a court decided that the Women of the Wall should pray at a different area called Robinson's Arch, which was not the main prayer area. The Women of the Wall agreed, but only if this new area was made into a proper prayer space. When the government did not prepare the area, the group appealed again. In 2000, the Supreme Court ruled that the Israeli government must allow the Women of the Wall to practice their religious freedom at the Western Wall.
However, in 2003, the Supreme Court changed its mind. It upheld the government's ban on the group reading Torah or wearing tallit and tefillin in the main area. The court said these meetings could be a threat to public safety. They again suggested Robinson's Arch as an alternative site. The Women of the Wall leader, Anat Hoffman, was unhappy, saying it was a "second-rate Wall for second-rate Jews."
Key Moments and Events
- May 2013: After a ruling allowed the Women of the Wall to pray at the site, thousands of Orthodox girls gathered to stop them. Police protected about 400 women, who held their largest gathering ever. They had planned to bring a Torah scroll but decided not to.
- October 2014: Women of the Wall managed to bring a small Torah scroll into the women's section. They held their first Torah reading by a woman at the site. This was part of a Bat Mitzvah celebration for a girl named Sasha Lutt. The Rabbi of the Western Wall said he would try to stop this from happening again.
- December 2014: Women of the Wall held a special Hanukkah candle lighting ceremony. They were the first women to light menorahs at the Western Wall. They asked for a large menorah in the women's section, just like the one in the men's section, but their request was denied.
- April 2015: For the first time, Women of the Wall read from a full-size Torah scroll. Male supporters passed a Torah scroll from the men's side to the women's section. Some Orthodox men tried to take the scroll, but police stopped them.
- January 2016: The Israeli government approved a plan for a new, shared prayer space at the Kotel. This space would not be controlled by the traditional religious authorities. The Women of the Wall welcomed this decision.
- June 2017: It was announced that the plan for the new prayer space, approved in 2016, had been put on hold.
- October 2017: Veterans of the Six-Day War helped Women of the Wall bring a Torah scroll into the Western Wall plaza.
Arrests and Detainment
Members of the Women of the Wall group have sometimes been arrested. They see themselves as "prisoners of conscience" fighting for their civil and religious rights.
- In November 2009, Nofrat Frenkel was arrested for wearing a tallit and holding a Torah. She was not charged but was banned from the Wall for two weeks.
- In January 2010, the group's leader, Anat Hoffman, was questioned by police and fingerprinted.
- In July 2010, Hoffman was arrested for holding a Torah scroll. She was fined and told not to go near the Kotel for 30 days.
- In October 2012, Hoffman was arrested again for singing loudly and disturbing the peace. Other members were also detained.
- In February 2013, ten women were detained for praying at the Wall and wearing clothes they were "not allowed to wear."
- In April 2013, five women were detained but later released by a judge. The judge ruled that the Orthodox protestors, not the women, had caused the disturbance.
- In July 2015, Rachel Cohen Yeshurun, a board member, was arrested for bringing a Torah Scroll into the Kotel.
- In June 2016, Leslie Sachs, the group's Executive Director, was detained for bringing a Torah into the Kotel.
Women of the Wall's View
The Women of the Wall group believes there is no single "custom of the place" at the Western Wall. They say their right to pray is a religious freedom protected by Israeli law. They see the Western Wall as a holy place for all Jewish people, not just one group. They want to change the current rules at the Wall because they believe it should be open to everyone. They often say their group is not just for Reform Jews but includes women from all Jewish backgrounds. They also stress that their prayers follow Jewish law and are not just a political act. Their main goal is to gain social and legal recognition for their right to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah together and out loud at the Western Wall.
Orthodox Community's View
The Orthodox Jewish religious leaders in Israel are against the services held by the Women of the Wall. Orthodox rabbis say that even if some of these prayer methods might be allowed by Jewish law, they go against long-standing Jewish customs. They believe that custom is as important as law and should decide how people pray. They also think that the Women of the Wall are driven by feminism rather than a true religious desire. They see the group's actions as an attempt to weaken their influence and allow non-Orthodox groups to gain official recognition in Israel.
In 1989, the Israeli Chief Rabbi suggested that these women "pray individually, silently, and preferably at home – not at the wall."
See also
- Role of women in Judaism
- Jewish feminism
- Freedom of religion
- Women in Israel
- Sexism in Israel
