women of the wall

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest businesses that operate on Saturdays , the Jewish day of rest, Jerusalem, June 29, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Ultra-Orthodox anger over Western Wall deal isn’t about American Jews

The Israeli government’s decision to abandon a deal creating an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall led to an unprecedented rift with Diaspora Jewry. But American Jews, and the Reform Movement in particular, are merely collateral damage — caught in the crossfire of an internal ultra-Orthodox power struggle. By Eli Bitan With all the…

By +972 Magazine July 6, 2017

Ultra-Orthodox Jews try to prevent a group of American Conservative and Reform rabbis, along with Women of the Wall, from bringing Torah scrolls into the Western Wall compound, Jerusalem, November 2, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Religious pluralism cannot be separated from the fight against occupation

As the 50th anniversary of the occupation draws near, those who consider themselves to be on the left cannot hide behind the battles that keep us in our comfort zone. By Emily Hilton Confrontations erupted at the Western Wall last week between security forces and activists from Reform and Conservative movement, after the activists broke through security…

By +972 Magazine November 6, 2016

Jewish American leaders march on the Western Wall to protest the government reneging on an agreement to create an egalitarian prayer space, Jerusalem, November 2, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

To reach Diaspora Jews, start by acknowledging their struggles

Those who dismiss the struggle at the Western Wall because it ignores Palestinians should recognize how important the Kotel is to American Jews. Their struggle for justice might start at the Western Wall, but it doesn’t necessarily end there. By Rachel Canar Something unprecedented happened in Jerusalem on Wednesday. More than 200 people, including 12 rabbis —…

By +972 Magazine November 4, 2016

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Women of the Wall praying at Kotel May 10, 2013 (Activestills)

WATCH: Will you use Western Wall’s new ‘mixed prayer plaza?’

After years of negotiations with reform and conservative movements of Judaism and ‘Women of the Wall,’ the Israeli government agreed to create an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where men and women can pray in the same space. We went to the Western Wall to ask people how they feel about…

By Social TV February 21, 2016

Women of the Wall pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. March 12, 2013 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Women of the Wall victory can teach us a few things

If we succeeded at pushing the government to find a solution on a matter as sensitive as the Western Wall, then we can also push Israel’s leadership — from a perspective of self interest — to make other, equally positive decisions. By Batya Kallus Last Sunday, following a 27-year struggle by Women of the Wall,…

By +972 Magazine February 5, 2016

A damaged 'Women of the Wall' ad on an Egged bus in Jerusalem, October 21, 2014. (Courtesy of Women of the Wall)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews tear down ‘bat mitzvah’ ads in Jerusalem

Buses carrying ‘Women of the Wall’ advertisements are vandalized and attacked; until earlier this year the Egged bus company refused to run ads featuring photos of women in Jerusalem. Unlike the majority of Jewish communities in western countries, most girls in Israel do not usually have bat mitzvah ceremonies. A new Jerusalem campaign promoting the…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man October 21, 2014

Women of the Wall pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. March 12, 2013 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

‘Why I cannot stand with Women of the Wall’

Nothing in Israel, or in the Middle East, is disconnected from anything else. Yet the issue of women’s religious access to the Kotel is treated, especially in North America, as if it exists in a vacuum. By Aryeh Cohen The story of Women of the Wall begins with the Wall. The story of the contemporary…

By +972 Magazine October 10, 2013

Women of the Wall supporters pray in solidarity with the women's prayer group near the Western Wall on June 9, 2013. (photo: Matt Surrusco, +972 Magazine)

Supporting roles: Men stand in solidarity with Women of the Wall

While the running debate at the Western Wall has been over women’s prayer, Jewish men have been playing a supporting role in shifting ‘local custom.’ Women of the Wall may be exactly what their name implies: women. But standing and praying in solidarity with them this month were several dozen Jewish men. In between police…

By Matt Surrusco June 10, 2013

Israeli border police guard the Separation Wall between the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Ras Al 'Amud and the West Bank town of Abu Dis, May 19, 2013, after Palestinian protesters broke a large hole through it during a demonstration two days previous. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

From a hole in the Wall to home demolitions in the Negev: A week in photos May 16-22

This week: A hole in the wall, protests against conscription, house demolitions in Jerusalem and the Negev, price tagging Women of the Wall, masked protesters in Tel Aviv and the West Bank, and demonstrations against occupation and settlements.

By Activestills May 23, 2013

Palestinian activists confront Israeli soldiers during a march on Road 60, the main North-South route through the West Bank, in a Nakba Day protest, May 15, 2013. The Nakba, literally, the "catastrophe", names the massive deportation of more then 700,000 Palestinian, made refugees and driven out of what became the State of Israel in 1948. (Photo by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Breaking down walls to remembering the Nakba: A week in photos – May 9-15

This week: Remembering Nakba Day on both sides of the Green Line, demonstrations against the occupation, settlements and the separation wall, social justice protests in Israel, Women of the Wall, solidarity with asylum seekers after police raids and a wall comes down in Lod.

By Activestills May 17, 2013

The bereaved mother and sister of Muhammad Asfour cry at his funeral in the West Bank village of Abud, March 8, 2013. Muhammad Asfour, 22, was hit in the head by a rubber coated steel bullet, shot by an Israeli soldier on February 22, 2013 during clashes at the entrance to his home village of Abud, northwest of Ramallah, during a solidarity protest for hunger striking Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
Asfour succumbed to his fatal injury after two weeks in the hospital. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

From a mother’s grief to an immigrant’s fear: A week in photos – March 7-13

This week: The funeral of a Palestinian killed by Israeli forces; olive tree planters face settlers and soldiers; Women of the Wall’s protest; a Palestinian action against family separations; Beit Safafa resists a road; solidarity with Samer Issawi continues; Israelis protest for human rights and animal rights, and African immigrants face anger in Tel Aviv.…

By Activestills March 14, 2013

Women of the Wall pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. March 12, 2013 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

MKs join hundreds of women praying at Western Wall, defying law

Hundreds of women – including MKs Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), Stav Shaffir (Labor) and Michal Rozin (Meretz) – gathered at Jerusalem’s Western Wall in honor of Rosh Hodesh (first of the Hebrew calendar month, today, Nissan) Tuesday morning. They joined the usual group of women from the Women of the Wall movement, who go every month at 7 a.m. to…

By Mairav Zonszein March 12, 2013

Anat Hoffman of Women of the Wall (Nshot Ha-Kotel) arrested at the Western Wall, Old City of Jerusalem (photo: Women of the Wall)

Women’s rights activist: We are reclaiming Judaism’s holiest site

Anat Hoffman, longtime crusader for the advancement of progressive Judaism in Israel and a tireless activist for the rights of women to partake in religious traditions, was arrested last month while saying the Shma prayer at the Western Wall. Hoffman, the Executive Director of the Israel Religious Action Center and one of the founders of…

By Dahlia Scheindlin November 2, 2012