Women of the Wall ( Hebrew : נשות הכותל, Neshot HaKotel ) is a multi-denominational Jewish feminist organization based in Israel whose goal is to secure the rights of women to pray at the Western Wall , also called the Kotel, in a fashion that includes singing, reading aloud from the Torah and wearing religious garments ( tallit , tefillin and kippah ). Pew Research Center has identified Israel as one of the countries that place "high" restrictions on religion, and there have been limits placed on non-Orthodox streams of Judaism. One of those restrictions is that the Rabbi of the Western Wall has enforced gender segregation and limitations on religious garb worn by women. When the "Women of the Wall" hold monthly prayer services for women on Rosh Hodesh , they observe gender segregation so that Orthodox members may fully participate. But their use of religious garb, singing and reading from a Torah have upset many members of the Orthodox Jewish community, sparking protests and arrests. In May 2013 a judge ruled that a 2003 Israeli Supreme Court ruling prohibiting women from carrying a Torah or wearing prayer shawls had been misinterpreted and that Women of the Wall prayer gatherings at the wall should not be deemed illegal.
88-493: (Redirected from WOW ) For technical reasons , "WOW #1s" redirects here. For the album, see WOW Number 1s . For technical reasons , "WOW #1s: Yellow" redirects here. For the album, see WOW Number 1s: Yellow . [REDACTED] Look up wow in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wow , WOW or WoW may refer to: Games and toys [ edit ] World of Warcraft ,
176-561: A Bat Mitzvah was celebrated by the group at the wall using a miniaturized Torah scroll which they smuggled in. Although the women have won the legal right to pray in their fashion at the wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz , the Supervisor of the Western Wall, has refused to allow the women to use the Torah scrolls distributed in the men's section or to bring their own. The group said that a reading from
264-423: A 1984 album by Wendy O. Williams Wow/Grape Jam , a 1968 album by Moby Grape Songs [ edit ] "Wow" (Kate Bush song) , 1979 "Wow" (Kylie Minogue song) , 2008 "Wow" (Ruslana song) , 2011 "Wow" (Inna song) , 2012 "Wow" (Beck song) , 2016 "Wow" (Marilyn Manson song) , 2009 "Wow" (Post Malone song) , 2018 "Wow" (Zara Larsson song) , 2020 Wow (Zola song) , 2020 "Wow",
352-542: A 1996 UK CITV programme Wow (film) , a 1970 Québécois movie directed by Claude Jutra wow (Barry) , a 2023 TV episode Transport [ edit ] WOW air , an Icelandic low-cost airline. WOW Alliance , a global air-cargo alliance Air Southwest , an airline based in the Southwest of England, by ICAO Airline Code Woolwich railway station , London, England, by National Rail station code Other [ edit ] Way of working or ways of working,
440-601: A 2003 song by Snow Patrol from Final Straw Organizations and companies [ edit ] War on Want , a British anti-poverty charity Warbirds Over Wanaka , a biennial international airshow held in New Zealand Wide Open West , an American ISP, internet, cable, and phone company Wider Opportunities for Women , U.S. non-profit Women of the Wall , a Jewish women's organization in Israel Women of
528-647: A British comic from 1982–1983 Wow (recording) , a pitch variation while playing a sound recording WOW Film Festival (disambiguation) , several film festivals Wow! signal , a strong radio signal of unknown origin detected by a SETI project in 1977 Whip em Out Wednesday, a radio promo on the Opie & Anthony Show See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "wow" on Misplaced Pages. All pages with titles beginning with wow All pages with titles containing wow Pow wow (disambiguation) The WOW! Awards Topics referred to by
616-595: A Torah Scroll to the Kotel in the early morning before the Rosh Hodesh service began. On June 7, 2016, Women of the Wall Executive Director Leslie Sachs was detained by police for 'smuggling' a Torah into the Kotel, and according to a statement released by Women of the Wall detained for 'disturbing the public order'. On June 14, 2018, several Women of the Wall board members were briefly detained outside
704-561: A bat mitzvah by reading from their Torah portion. The ad campaign features girls wearing prayer shawls and holding a Torah scroll in front of the wall. The ad, placed on Israeli buses, has the caption, "Mom, I also want a bat mitzvah at the Kotel!" The Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which is controlled by the Orthodox and oversees events at the wall, not only runs a business of bar mitzvahs for boys that has excluded girls from their offerings, but has refused to permit women to carry Torah scrolls at
792-623: A change in policy, but he came to support WOW's goals because they align with the Reform movement's opposition to the exclusion of women from religious society in Israel. By 2013, however, about half of Israeli Jews approved of Women of the Wall and their mission, with the greatest support coming from secular, educated Ashkenazi Jews. Pollsters for the Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI) and Tel Aviv University surveyed Jews in Israel and found that
880-444: A clear majority, 64%, of those who defined themselves as secular, and 53% of those who described themselves as traditional but not religious supported the right of Women of the Wall to worship in their fashion. A minority of those who described themselves as traditional religious or Ultra-Orthodox approved. The results showed that overall, 51.8% of men and 46% of women supported Women of the Wall and their right to pray in their fashion at
968-420: A concept for software development in disciplined agile delivery within the project management framework Disciplined Agile Toolkit Lay's WOW chips , a brand of fat-free potato chips Wendy O. Williams (1949–1998), U.S. singer Windows on Windows , an application compatibility layer in 32-bit Microsoft Windows WoW64 , an application compatibility layer in 64-bit Microsoft Windows Wow! (comic) ,
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#17328550559041056-412: A felony over her involvement with Women of the Wall. The questioning concerned WOW's December service, during which Hoffman said she did not do anything out of the ordinary. On July 12, 2010, Hoffman was arrested for holding a Torah scroll . She was fined 5,000 NIS and given a restraining order according to which she was not allowed to approach the Kotel for thirty days. On October 16, 2012, Hoffman
1144-501: A feminist challenge. Ran Hirschl believes the conflict is "a contest for cultural hegemony between a secularist-libertarian elite and traditionally peripheral group," namely the ultra-Orthodox community. Frances Raday posits that the violent opposition by Orthodox Jews stems from the "desire of the Orthodox establishment to preserve religious patriarchal hegemony against the challenge of religious feminism," rather than an attempt to preserve Jewish Law itself. Phyllis Chesler of Women of
1232-455: A full-size Torah scroll at the organization's service at the Western Wall. One hundred Torah scrolls are kept for the use of the men's side of the Western Wall and male supporters of Women of the Wall passed a Torah scroll across the barrier into the women's section for Women of the Wall's service. | Eyewitnesses reported that as women were reading from the scroll, several ultra-Orthodox men physically attacked WoW's male supporters and then entered
1320-433: A general hostility to feminism. Susan Sered suggests the public saw the group as "symbolically desecrating Judaism's holiest site" and claims that many in Israel saw the group as "American Reform interlopers trying to appropriate a state symbol of national identity." Their demands were seen as radical and foreign to Israeli society and their actions "alienated Israelis of almost all political persuasions". Consequently,
1408-436: A lesser degree women wearing tallit and kippahs. Their central mission is to "achieve the social and legal recognition of our right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall." The women have made progress and as of 1988, the women have held occasional, uninterrupted prayer services wearing tallitot and tefillin. The Israeli Orthodox Jewish religious establishment
1496-434: A letter calling on public figures "not to let a small group offend the thousands of worshippers arriving to pray at this sacred place on a regular basis." They went on to state that "there are those who have been trying in recent years to change the present situation, offending many and tainting the special atmosphere of holiness of this sacred place." Disapproval included a wide range of name-calling, such as calling Women of
1584-601: A letter to the group, Yehuda Getz , the government appointed rabbi of the Western Wall, urged them to stop "straying from the hallowed traditions of generations of Jews before you" and in 1989, the Israeli Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapiro and the Religious Affairs Minister suggested that these women "pray individually, silently, and preferably at home – not at the wall." From the outset, the Women of
1672-524: A massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warplanes , an online flight simulator World of Warships , an online naval simulator Wizard of Wor , a 1981 arcade game by Midway Sega Wow , a video game company Worlds of Wonder (toy company) , a 1980s American toy company Music [ edit ] Wow (band) , a Dutch 1990s girl group WOW Music , a Hong Kong record label SRS Wow, and SRS Wow HD, an audio enhancement suite of Sound Retrieval System technologies Wow,
1760-513: A member of the animated girl group VBirds Albums [ edit ] WOW series , a series of compilation albums of contemporary Christian music Wow! (Bananarama album) , 1987 Wow (Bibi Zhou album) , 2007 Wow! (Bill Doggett album) , 1965 WOW (Junko Onishi album) , 1993 Wow (Kate NV album) , 2023 WOW (Mouse on Mars album) , a 2012 mini album by Mouse on Mars Wow (Superbus album) , 2006 Wow (Verdena album) , 2011 WOW (Wendy O. Williams album) ,
1848-483: A museum and award show in New Zealand World of Wonder (company) , an American production company World Organization of Workers , an international trade union federation WOW! (online service) , a defunct ISP from CompuServe WOW Promotions , an American mixed martial arts organization WOW Sight & Sound , an Australian electronics and music retailer Places [ edit ] Wall of Wind ,
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#17328550559041936-470: A solution to the dispute. In response to the detentions at the wall in February 2013, Sharansky said "When I listen to the very partial presentation, I am fully with them — when I listen to the other side, I have to accept that they also have logic. We do have to find a solution in which nobody will feel discriminated against." In April 2013, Sharansky suggested constructing a third, egalitarian prayer center at
2024-506: A spin-off of Winx Club WOW (channel) , an Indian television channel in Mumbai WOW (TV station) , the local WIN Television station broadcasting to remote Western Australia KXSP , formerly known as WOW, a radio station in Omaha, Nebraska WOWT , formerly known as WOW-TV, a TV station in Omaha, Nebraska WOW: The CatholicTV Challenge , a television game show WOW! (TV series) ,
2112-574: A wind engineering testing facility in Florida, United States WOW counties , Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington counties of Wisconsin, United States WOW (Wasatch over Wasatch) Trail , a trail along the course of Snake Creek in Utah, United States Wau, South Sudan (or Wow), a town in South Sudan Television, radio and film [ edit ] World of Winx (also titled Winx Club WOW ),
2200-440: Is cited by Women of the Wall in support of their cause, is rejected by the establishment, as they view the Women of the Wall as being motivated by feminism rather than a sincere spiritual desire. Their struggle is also seen as an attempt to undermine their influence and as a strategy for non-Orthodox groups to gradually gain official recognition at state level, paving the way for the introduction of religious pluralism in Israel. In
2288-561: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages WOW Number 1s WOW #1s is a two-disc compilation album of thirty one songs that have been heralded as the "Greatest Christian Music Hits Ever," with recordings dating from 1988 to 2005. It was released on April 5, 2005. The album features songs by FFH , Amy Grant , Rebecca St. James , Chris Rice , Avalon , and many other well-known singers and groups. It reached gold sales status in 2005. WOW #1s weighed in at 58th position on
2376-633: Is in part due to the differing social conditions of Orthodox women in the United States and Israel respectively. Shmuel Rosner describes the phenomena as an "American-imported battle" for religious pluralism, religious moderation and tolerance. He notes that civil rights and feminism are American imports, late in coming to Israel. Twenty-five years after the founding of WoW, a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute in May 2013 found that about half of
2464-613: Is opposed to the services conducted by the Women of the Wall. Orthodox rabbis claim that even if such a manner of prayer is theoretically permitted by Jewish Law, it is against Jewish custom. Even if support can be found in Jewish legal sources for various activities, the force of custom is equal to absolute law and it is the custom which determines proper conduct. Various legal opinions recorded in Halacha cannot be manipulated to introduce new forms of prayer. The opinion of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein , which
2552-884: The Billboard 200 chart in 2005, and at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums chart in both 2005 and 2006. Women of the Wall In January 2016, the Israeli Cabinet approved a plan to designate a new space at the Kotel that would be available for egalitarian prayer and which would not be controlled by the Rabbinate. Women of the Wall welcomed the decision, but the plan faced opposition from other factions, including some ultra-Orthodox members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's governing coalition, who threatened to withdraw over
2640-531: The Robinson's Arch area of the plaza is access to the Kotel. The petition for women to read from the Torah at the Kotel had been brought by a group that split off from the Women of the Wall, calling itself the "Original Women of the Wall". In June 2017, it was announced that the plan approved in January 2016 had been suspended. According to Ronit Kampf, the group's struggle has been "the most covered women's issue in
2728-415: The Israel public supports the Women of the Wall, and that men (51.5%) are more inclined to support the women's prayer group than women (46%). The poll was conducted by Professor Tamar Hermann, who noted that Women of the Wall received highest levels of support from educated, secular, Ashkenazi Israelis. However, the group was not always met with support from the majority of Israelis, as it is today. Women of
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2816-502: The Israeli government could no longer argue that the Robinson's Arch area of the plaza is access to the Kotel. The petition for women to read from the Torah at the Kotel had been brought by a group that split off from the Women of the Wall, calling itself the "Original Women of the Wall". However, later that year it was announced that the plan approved in January 2016 to designate a new space at
2904-505: The Israeli government's ban prohibiting the organization from reading Torah or wearing tallit or tefillin at the main public area at the Wall, on the grounds that such continued meetings represented a threat to public safety and order. The Court required the government to provide an alternate site, Robinson's Arch . Plans to construct a small prayer site at Robinson's Arch were unveiled in October 2003. WOW leader Anat Hoffman reacted harshly to
2992-478: The Kotel that would be available for egalitarian prayer and which would not be controlled by the Rabbinate had been suspended. Some Orthodox feminist organisations have voiced support for their right to pray at the Kotel. The organisation was created by Jewish women, mostly from the diaspora, and a significant number of participants are American immigrants or part of the English-speaking community. This
3080-555: The Torah at the head of the group, making her the first woman to carry a Torah to the Western Wall. When the conference ended, a group of Jerusalem women led by Bonna Devora Haberman continued to meet at the Kotel and formed Women of the Wall to assert their right to pray there without hindrance. Women of the Wall has fought a legal battle asserting a right to conduct organized prayer at the Kotel and challenging government and private intervention in its efforts. After demanding police protection,
3168-418: The Torah in prayer services at the Kotel within 30 days, women could do so; they also ruled that the Israeli government could no longer argue that the Robinson's Arch area of the plaza is access to the Kotel. The petition for women to read from the Torah at the Kotel had been brought by a group that split off from the Women of the Wall, calling itself the "Original Women of the Wall". However, later that year it
3256-414: The Torah scroll in the women's section was an historic event. On December 18, 2014, Women of the Wall held a women's candle lighting at the Kotel. For Hanukkah every year a giant menorah is erected in the men's section of the Western Wall and each night of the eight nights of the festival, male rabbis and male politicians are honored, while women remain in the women's section, where they are able to see
3344-429: The Wall "witches", "prostitutes", "weird", "childish", and "provocateurs", for wanting to pray in their fashion. The Israeli state and Ministry of Religion referred to Women of the Wall as "witches", who were doing "Satan's work"; "more like prostitutes than women"; "misled, tainted, by modern secular feminism". Yet indifference and condemnation for the women's plight came from all sectors of Israeli society, not just from
3432-399: The Wall and break the ritual status quo continues as they believe that the Wall is a holy place for all Jews. They repeatedly stress that the group is not Reform Jews, but come from all affiliations and that their conduct strictly adheres to Orthodox Jewish Law and that their prayer is genuine and not a political stunt. Orthodox Jewish law strictly prohibits women reading from the Torah, and to
3520-444: The Wall have been subjected to heckling and abuse from male and female Orthodox worshipers. More recently, those who oppose the Women of the Wall have been criticized by Israel's predominantly secular society, which objects not only to the harassment of Women of the Wall but attempts to ban mixing of genders in public places such as buses and sidewalks. In 1996, UTJ MK Israel Eichler wrote: "No one prevents anyone else from praying at
3608-453: The Wall is a multi-denominational group, including Reform, Conservative and modern- orthodox members. Since 1988, the group has faced a legal battle for recognition of their right to pray at the Western Wall. Their presence is deemed offensive by Orthodox worshippers at the site and there have been numerous court proceedings to settle the issue. On the Fast of Esther 1989, Orthodox men, outraged by
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3696-487: The Wall is seen by the Israeli Orthodox religious establishment as an attempt to undermine their influence in an effort to introduce religious pluralism. Opposition from the Orthodox stems from Halachic concerns; this manifests publicly as a general disdain for non-traditional ritual in an area they claim serves as an Orthodox synagogue. Orthodoxy does not permit women to constitute a minyan (prayer quorum) and while
3784-409: The Wall or any other women to participate in the ceremonies or to be honored with the lighting of a candle at the Kotel on Hanukkah, despite the fact that women are obligated equally to men in this religious act." Initially, the personal menorahs the women brought to the Kotel were confiscated, but they were returned when police were called. In April 2015 Women of the Wall participated in reading from
3872-479: The Wall that is identical in size and standing to the plaza currently controlled by the Orthodox Jews. This attempt was endorsed by the government to solve the controversy of the wall, but in actuality, this arrangement would have led to the emergence of a new conflict. Instead of ending the quarreling by granting women full rights to worship at the existing wall, the women would have had to fight for recognition among
3960-623: The Wall to the High Court of Justice in 1995. This concluded in April 1996, determining the solution was to move the Women of the Wall's prayer from the Western Wall to the Robinson's Arch. Robinson's Arch was not in the area of main prayer. The Women of the Wall appealed this decision to the Ne'eman Committee in 1998, who reaffirmed the previous decision of the High Court Justice. The Women of the Wall accepted
4048-556: The Wall was founded in December 1988 at the first International Jewish Feminist Conference in Jerusalem. On December 1, 1988, during the conference, Rivka Haut organized a group of multi-denominational women to pray at the Western Wall. 70 women carried a Torah scroll to the Western Wall , and Rabbi Deborah Brin led a prayer service for them. Francine Klagsbrun was the one chosen to carry
4136-504: The Wall welcomed the decision. A group calling itself Original Women of the Wall, which includes founding members of WoW and which contends that WOW has broken away from the original and on-going charter of the group. Original Women of the Wall does not agree with the compromise and said its members will continue to hold prayer services at the Western Wall, praying as is their custom, with prayer shawls and tefillin. Palestinian Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs Youssef Ideiss protested that
4224-465: The Wall. Some Jewish feminist activists in Israel have seen the Women of the Wall's activities as being inconsistent with their political activities. Leah Shakdiel of the anti-war group Women in Black describes the Wall as "all maleness and war". Shakdiel maintains that Israeli society's general opposition to the Women of the Wall is a result of a religious and secular alliance against what they perceive as
4312-401: The Wall. A temporary ruling was given which stated that the status quo should be enforced until they reached a final verdict. The legal battles between the High Court of Justice and the Women of the Wall continued between 1995 and 2000. The Israeli government did not uphold the position that they would find a way for the Women of the Wall to pray, which resulted in an appeal from the Women of
4400-416: The Western Wall plaza by police demanding to see their ID. The Women of the Wall have consistently claimed that there is no single "custom of the place" and that their right to pray is a religious freedom enshrined in Israeli law. They believe the Western Wall is a religious site as well as a national site and therefore belongs to the entire Jewish population. Their efforts to challenge the current customs at
4488-464: The Western Wall rabbi. The arrests have been criticized by groups promoting religious pluralism in Israel. The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), condemned the arrest of Anat Hoffman and called it a "desecration of God's name". In October 2014, Women of the Wall launched a campaign to encourage girls to have their bat mitzvah services at the Kotel. Unlike most American non-Orthodox Jewish girls, Israeli Jewish girls typically do not celebrate
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#17328550559044576-399: The Western Wall, however, continues to view their presence as a provocation. They have the support of large American non-Orthodox denominations, which view the issue of women's rights to pray at the Wall as a high-profile opportunity to promote gender-egalitarian Jewish prayer, which most Israelis have never experienced. They also want to remove the control of the holy site from the hands of
4664-406: The Western Wall, put on a tallit (prayer shawl), and pray... These are deviants who serve equality, not Heaven. They must be condemned and warned of." Rabbi Yosef Reinman suggested that it is "not religious need," but rather "religious politics" which motivates the woman. Prominent Orthodox women have also disapproved of the group. Nehama Leibowitz likened their worship to a form of "sport", and
4752-526: The Western Wall. The struggle has led to two Israeli Supreme Court decisions and a series of debates in the Knesset . In its first decision, on May 22, 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that it is legal for Women of the Wall to hold prayer groups and read Torah in the women's section of the main Kotel plaza undisturbed. Four days later, Haredi political parties including Shas introduced several bills to overturn
4840-475: The Women of the Wall in appropriate ways." Recently, a number of non-Orthodox gatherings and services have been held publicly in America in solidarity with the Women of the Wall. Within the Reform movement, WOW has faced both support and criticism. Rabbi Gilad Kariv , who is considered the leader of the Reform movement in Israel, argued that WOW's request of 11 hours a year did not indicate an urgency that required
4928-519: The Women of the Wall should be "thrown to the dogs". The committee noted that such "scornful" remarks would be "deplored harshly" had they been spoken about Jews by any other government outside Israel. Porush responded by saying that if "Women of the Wall" refrained from eating non-Kosher food, he would apologize to them. In 2017 the Israeli High Court ruled that if the government of Israel could not find "good cause" to prohibit women reading from
5016-630: The World Festival , a festival based in London with global satellite venues Women of Wrestling , an American women's wrestling promotion Women on Waves , a Dutch pro-choice non-profit organization Women on Web , a Canadian pro-choice non-profit organization Woodmen of the World , a fraternal organization in Omaha, Nebraska, United States Woolworths Limited , an Australian retailing company, by Australian Stock Exchange code World of Wearable Art ,
5104-399: The ceremony with some difficulty. At the Women of the Wall ceremony, women brought their personal menorahs. They invited Jews around the world to light a candle for WoW on the third night of Hanukkah. Wow sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requesting a large menorah also be erected in the women's section just as there is one in the men's section, but Netanyahu simply forwarded
5192-489: The decision on the condition that the area they were being moved to be set up to be a proper prayer area. The government did not do such preparations of the prayer area in Robinson's Arch, resulting in the appeal to the Supreme Court in 2000 by the Women of the Wall. In this appeal, the supreme court ruled that the Israeli government was required to allow the Women of the Wall to exercise their religious freedom and practices at
5280-522: The decision, including a bill that would have made it a criminal offense for women to pray in non-traditional ways at the Western Wall, punishable by up to seven years in prison. In response MK Naomi Chazan said "What have we become? Afghanistan? Iran?" Although the bill did not pass, the Israeli Supreme Court reconsidered its earlier decision. On April 6, 2003, the Court reversed itself and upheld, 5–4,
5368-406: The disturbance, but rather it was the male and female Orthodox protestors countering them that initiated it. In April 2013, a group UK Progressive rabbis protested to the Israeli ambassador calling threats to arrest women saying Kaddish "shocking". On July 17, 2015, Women of the Wall board member Rachel Cohen Yeshurun was arrested by police in the prayer section of the Kotel after smuggling in
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#17328550559045456-536: The floor 15 meters; my arms are bruised. They put me in a cell without a bed, with three other prisoners, including a prostitute and a car thief. They threw the food through a little window in the door. I laid on the floor covered with my tallit . I'm a tough cookie, but I was just so miserable. And for what? I was with the Hadassah women saying Sh'ma Yisrael." On February 11, 2013, ten women who were part of WOW, including two American rabbis, were detained for praying at
5544-450: The government was given nine months to make arrangements that would allow them to pray unhindered. At the end of this period, the Ministry of Religion ruled that only prayer according to the "custom of the place" was to be permitted and that "the sensitivities of other worshippers" must not be offended. The Women of the Wall then petitioned the Supreme Court to recognize their right to pray at
5632-407: The government's plan to create non-Orthodox prayer space at the Western Wall in deference to the Women of the Wall. In January 2017, the Israeli High Court ruled that if the government of Israel could not find "good cause" to prohibit women reading from the Torah in prayer services at the Kotel within 30 days, women could do so; they also ruled that the Israeli government could no longer argue that
5720-488: The group have been arrested for acts that Women of the Wall members say are legal under the Supreme Court ruling. Nofrat Frenkel was arrested for wearing a tallit under her coat and holding a Torah in November 2009. She was not charged, but she was barred from visiting the Wall for two weeks. The group's leader, Anat Hoffman , was interrogated by the police in January 2010, fingerprinted, and told that she could be charged with
5808-469: The head of the rabbinic authority of the Western Wall, called the women's Torah reading a provocation and said "the Israel Police and employees of the Western Wall had to work hard in order to avoid bloodshed." In January 2016, the Israeli Cabinet approved a plan to designate a new space at the Kotel that would be available for egalitarian prayer and which would not be controlled by the Rabbinate. Women of
5896-406: The history of the Israeli media." From the start, Women of the Wall included Orthodox members and opted to claim their service was run according to "Orthodox standards". This was despite the fact that according to orthodox standards, women do not wear tzitzit, tefillin, or read from the Torah. Most Orthodox individuals were offended, including some who call themselves Orthodox feminists. Women of
5984-463: The letter to Western Wall rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who accused WoW of ulterior motives of trying to change the customs at the Wall. Responding to Rabinowitz' accusation, Anat Hoffman noted: "In his letter, Rabbi Rabinowitz speaks of bringing together and uniting the nation, and yet his actions exclude and discriminate against women as if women are not part of the same nation. Since he was chosen for this public position, Rabinowitz has never invited Women of
6072-563: The plan. "Now we're going to be praying at an archeological site, at an alternative site for the Jews of a lesser degree." The site was inaugurated in 2004. Until recently, it was illegal for them to do so under Israeli law. In December 2012, following pressure from non-Orthodox US Jews, Natan Sharansky , the chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel , was asked by the Prime Minister to find
6160-515: The proposed egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall violates the status-quo agreement governing the area. In March 2016 MK Meir Porush was reprimanded by the Knesset ethics committee in 2016 because they determined that he "deviated radically and blatantly from the accepted way to express oneself in the Knesset or what is appropriate for an MK." In a speech before the Knesset Porush said that
6248-441: The public at their new area. The area for the women would have been located in what is known as the Robinson's Arch site. In March 2013, three women MKs used their parliamentary immunity to don prayer shawls and join the Women of the Wall in a show of support after 10 women had been arrested the previous month. MK Stav Shaffir ( Labour ) said "I usually do not wear a tallit , but it is my honor and duty to stand here and protect
6336-424: The religious right. Even liberals saw their actions as a "provocation", and women's organisations in Israel viewed their behaviour as "weird and objectionable". Hillel Halkin called them "childish provocateurs" and Ithamar Handelman-Smith wondered what the Women of the Wall wanted to achieve. Israeli society in general and the secular media were also initially unsympathetic to their cause, possibly reflecting
6424-488: The right of the women to assemble, said she was "shocked" that fellow MKs decided to blatantly disobey the law and ignore Supreme Court rulings. MK Miri Regev ( Likud ) called the MKs attendance a "provocation" and referred to the groups "anarchistic actions" which had "turned into a national sport among the extreme Left in Israel." MK Uri Ariel ( Bayit Yehudi ) called the women radicals and suggested that their "gross violations" at
6512-538: The rights of all Jews from around the world to pray as they desire and believe." Tamar Zandberg ( Meretz ) said: "I demand to enter. The extremist stream's interpretation of the Holy Places Law is unacceptable to me, and I refuse to leave the prayer shawl outside. I am a secular woman but I identify with these women's struggle for freedom of expression and religion." Subsequently, a number of MKs condemned their actions. MK Aliza Lavie ( Yesh Atid ), who herself supports
6600-488: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Wow . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wow&oldid=1249956303 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Broadcast call sign disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
6688-506: The site may lead to civil war. In May 2013, after bowing to pressure from non-Orthodox diaspora Jews, the government issued a directive for the legal dispute to be solved. A subsequent Appellate Court ruling gave permission for the Women of the Wall to hold services at the site after deciding that their prayer and ritual were not against the "local custom" and since the women did not use physical or verbal violence, they could not be held responsible for any resulting disturbances. The Rabbi of
6776-459: The wall was overturned in 2013. A plan was approved by the Israeli Cabinet in January 2016 to designate a new space at the Kotel that would be available for egalitarian prayer and which would not be controlled by the Rabbinate. In 2017 the Israeli High Court ruled that if the government of Israel could not find "good cause" to prohibit women reading from the Torah in prayer services at the Kotel within 30 days, women could do so; they also ruled that
6864-409: The wall and "as a result of them wearing the garments that they're not allowed to wear specifically at that site." The women were barred from returning for 15 days. On April 11, 2013, five women were detained for allegedly goading and offending other worshippers. They were subsequently released by Judge Sharon Larry-Bavili without restrictions as she ruled that the female worshippers did not instigate
6952-526: The wall in his own fashion, but the wall is the last place to carry out a battle for the right of a woman to wear a tallit , read from the Torah, wear a kippa and grow a beard." MK Yaakov Litzman stated that "there is no desecration greater than that of women who come to desecrate the holiness of the Western Wall with all kinds of provocations such as carrying a Torah scroll and other things reserved by Jewish law only to men." In 2009, former chief rabbi Ovadia Yosef said: "There are stupid women who come to
7040-414: The wall. Several of the campaign ads were soon vandalized in Orthodox neighborhoods. The ad campaign received international publicity when religious extremists carried out violent attacks in Jerusalem. About fifty Jewish men in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim engaged in hurling rocks and slashing tires of public buses carrying ads for the egalitarian services for girls. On October 24, 2014,
7128-408: The widow of Sephardi Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu said the group had "gone completely mad" and their actions amount to "desecration". Ultra-Orthodox former Jerusalem city councilwoman Mina Fenton said the women are "a fringe group that attracts people who read the prayer book upside down." The Religious Zionist leadership also voiced its concern in May 2013 when a group of influential rabbis issued
7216-507: The women at first received minimal grass-roots support. Lahav explains that secular indifference results from an acceptance of the view espoused by the Orthodox establishment when it comes to religious issues and that those on the Left of the political spectrum ignore the women in an attempt to gain Orthodox support for their dovish positions on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Popular support for
7304-427: The women have not considered themselves as doing so, this has not calmed Orthodox sensibilities. Initially, the group did not receive support from Israel's primarily Orthodox religious authorities. Supporters highlighted the fact that only in Israel are Jewish women prohibited from praying according to their custom in a public location and a 2003 High Court ruling which prevented them from conducting prayer services at
7392-591: The women initially came mainly from Reform and Liberal communities in North America. In 1990, the Central Conference of American Rabbis encouraged its members to support Women of the Wall. In 2000, the Union for Reform Judaism declared it "warmly commends the Women of the Wall for its courageous and principled struggle to be allowed to pray at the Western Wall" and urged Reform congregations to "express solidarity with
7480-437: The women's section in an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve the Torah scroll. Police intervened and stopped them. Following the Torah reading service, WoW members in the women's section danced with the scroll. "This is the first time that Women of the Wall can stand up and be counted as a part of the public," proclaimed Anat Hoffman, the chair of WoW. "Nothing you could say could tear me away from my Torah." Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch,
7568-464: The women's singing, hurled chairs and verbal insults at the women, which resulted in the deployment of tear gas to quell the violence. In 2010, police arrested two Haredi men at the Western Wall Plaza on suspicion that they threw chairs at a Women of the Wall group that was praying aloud at the site. In 2009, the first woman was arrested for praying with a tallit . The struggle by the Women of
7656-479: Was announced that the plan approved in January 2016 to designate a new space at the Kotel that would be available for egalitarian prayer and which would not be controlled by the Rabbinate had been suspended. Women for the Wall is founded to campaign against the Women of the Wall. In their struggle for civil rights and religious freedom, members of the group have been willing to engage in civil disobedience and become "prisoners of conscience". Several members of
7744-504: Was arrested again. She was accused of singing out loud and disturbing the peace , and was released from police custody the following day. The following morning Lesley Sachs and board member Rachel Cohen Yeshurun were detained for "disturbing public order". Hoffman described the ordeal: "In the past when I was detained I had to have a policewoman come with me to the bathroom, but this was something different. This time they checked me naked, completely, without my underwear. They dragged me on
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