A Canadian Conservative rabbi who was detained at the Western Wall in 2013 for praying with Women of the Wall warned that proposed legislation advancing in the Knesset could threaten egalitarian prayer at the site and alienate non-Orthodox Jewish communities worldwide.
Thirteen years ago, on the morning of Rosh Chodesh Adar, Rabbi Elyse Goldstein was detained at the Kotel after joining a group praying with Women of the Wall in the women’s section.
A minyan of women, 10 in total, were detained by police.
Goldstein wrote that her “crime” was violating regulations governing holy places and behaving in a way that could endanger public safety. She was subsequently banned from the entire Western Wall plaza for 30 days.
At the time, she said the arrest was confusing.
“All I did was daven, or pray, just as I do every day, as a rabbi serving the largest Conservative synagogue in Canada,” she wrote.
Proposed legislation sparks concern among non-Orthodox Jews
In the years since, Goldstein said she has witnessed police interfere with women’s prayer at the Kotel on a near-monthly basis. However, she argued that current legislative efforts concerning prayer arrangements at the site are even more troubling.
According to Goldstein, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee has been advancing legislation that would criminalize egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, including at the egalitarian section established nearly a decade ago.
The rabbi said lawmakers are continuing to discuss the proposal despite ongoing political uncertainty surrounding the governing coalition.
“The bill is an insult to millions of Conservative, Reform and progressive Jews who are deep supporters of Israel and have been advocating tirelessly for the Jewish state before and after Oct. 7, 2023, and during the war with Iran,” she wrote.
Currently, the Western Wall includes separate men's and women's sections overseen by the haredi Chief Rabbinate, as well as a nearby egalitarian section that has been administered by non-Orthodox Jewish movements since 2016.
Goldstein said the proposed legislation would place the entire Western Wall complex under the authority of the Chief Rabbinate and prohibit religious services that do not conform to Orthodox standards.
Rabbi says bill could alienate Diaspora supporters of Israel
Goldstein argued that Diaspora Jews who have strongly supported Israel should oppose the legislation.
She said the proposal would make her unwelcome both as a practicing Jew who prays with a tallit and tefillin and as a committed supporter of Israel.
Goldstein noted that she owns a home in northern Israel and has been a vocal supporter of the country, particularly since the October 7 attacks.
Reflecting on her arrest, she wrote that she no longer feels comfortable praying in the women’s section of the Western Wall.
Instead, during visits to Israel, she now prays primarily in the egalitarian section.
Over time, she said she has come to view the egalitarian section as equally holy because it is part of the same wall while allowing families to pray together without a mechitzah separating them.
Goldstein recalled standing there earlier this year with her husband and daughter and expressing gratitude that they could worship together.
“We never dreamed it could be our last time praying together there,” she wrote.
Concerns over the bill's future
The rabbi said there are many ways to be Jewish and argued that while the Orthodox establishment should continue overseeing the gender-segregated sections, the egalitarian section should remain available for egalitarian worshippers.
She encouraged supporters of egalitarian prayer to join a petition opposing the legislation.
While acknowledging that the bill may not become law before potential elections, Goldstein warned that advancing it through an initial reading could allow a future Knesset to move it forward more quickly.
“If that happens, even a plane ride to Israel could never make me feel welcome there again,” she wrote.
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