Woman Of The Wall
Dear Sisters and Friends,
A Chutzpah record was broken this morning at the Western Wall when security guards, paid by the Kotel Rabbi, wrestled Micha Eshet, former Battalion Commander of the Paratrooper Brigade to the ground. Eshet, one of the Wall liberators in 1967, was pushed after he, along with 50 of his comrades, tried to carry a Torah scroll into the Kotel plaza.
Meanwhile, WOW’s prayer convened and were disturbed with whistles and shrieks. At the end of the prayer, WOW worshipers joined the veterans to read from the Torah scroll at the southern entrance of the plaza. After the Torah reading, the veterans raised signs in support of the Kotel Agreement and together we sang Hatikvah.
Here’s a video of today’s events:
High Holiday Wrap Up:
WOW Board Members have been busy over the holidays. While I was traveling overseas speaking to congregations in Florida and New York, Board Member Sylvie Rozenbaum was leading prayers on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur at AJTM Congregation in Paris. Rachel Yeshurun was honored as “Kalat Torah” and read from Torah at Ohel Yaacov Synagogue in Lisbon.
Rachel Cohen Yeshurun in Lisbon
Sylvie Rozenbaum in Paris
Here in Israel, Board Member Dana Sharon was asked at a moment’s notice to lead the Ashrei prayer on Yom Kippur and says she channeled Tammy Gottlieb, WOW’s Vice Chair, who leads prayers regularly. Board Member Dina Greenberg took her Orthodox friends to pray with the Conservative congregation Yedid Nefesh in Modiin. They all read from Torah while wrapped in WOW tallit and were extremely moved by the experience. The finale was, of course, Simchat Torah. WOW Board Members and staff participated in egalitarian Hakafot in Jerusalem, rejoicing and dancing while holding a WOW Torah scroll.
Legal Update:
Following physical and verbal violence against us during Selichot, WOW petitioned the Supreme Court against the Police and the Wall Rabbi. The Supreme Court delivered its decision on Wednesday, October 18, stating that the Police and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation have a duty to be proactive and remove anyone who is disruptive to WOW’s prayer. The court stated that the Police and the Foundation must report the steps they’ve taken to deal with violence and disruptions by October 28th. WOW attorneys stated in their petition that, in the event that Police and security guards continue to abandon their duty to protect WOW worshipers, they face personal legal action.
Women of the Wall depends on you for its continued activities. Our supporters around the world make the ongoing struggle for the Western Wall possible!
Celebrate your Bat Mitzvah at the Kotel, the holiest site in the Jewish world. Nothing rivals the experience of a Jewish coming-of-age in the heart of Jerusalem.
