Several hundred hard-line religious-Zionist activists descended on the egalitarian section of the Western Wall (known as the Israel section) on Saturday night and held prayer services there, severely disturbing the services of a Masorti (Conservative) group.
The Orthodox activists arrived at the site ahead of the group for the Fast of the Ninth of Av evening service, which includes the reading of the Book of Lamentations and prayers of mourning for the destruction of the ancient Jewish temples in Jerusalem.
A spokesman for the Masorti Movement said that the Orthodox group began saying the mourners’ prayer, and subsequently sang, during the Masorti group’s reading of Lamentations, making it extremely difficult to hear the reading.
The large numbers of religious-Zionist activists also set up a mechitzah, or gender-separation divider, in opposition to the custom of the egalitarian section, and also prevented some of the dozens of Masorti worshipers from entering the site who came a short while afterwards.
Former director of the Masorti Movement in Israel Yizhar Hess, who was present at the site, said it was “one of the most difficult evenings” he had witnessed at the Western Wall.
“On the eve of the Fast of the Ninth of Av, there was an act which had not one gram of loving other Jews,” he said.
“The opposite [happened] – not only a violent take over of the egalitarian section, but many of our people who came to pray were prevented from entering because the area was full – and is full, mostly with those who came to Jerusalem to fight and humiliate others.”
Labor MK and Reform rabbi Gilad Kariv, who was also at the egalitarian section Saturday night, denounced the incident and said it demonstrated the need to implement the 2016 Western Wall agreement to turn the site into a state-recognized area for non-Orthodox prayer.
“If there is a lesson from the Ninth of Av it is that the fire of zealotry and hatred will not stop here, and will continue to threaten more and more parts of Israeli society,” he said.
The MK said he called on Bennett and the rest of the government’s ministers “to put an end to the thuggishness which is covered in a holy cloak and legalize and regulate the operation of the egalitarian section.”
A spokesman for the prime minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The religious-Zionist group, branding itself the Joint Committee for Preserving the Holiness of the Western Wall, used the egalitarian section last week in protest of what it said was the “government of deception’s sale of the state to the Reform movements.”
The egalitarian section is generally used by the Conservative and Reform movements for prayer services and celebrations, assigned for such purposes at the beginning of the century by the High Court of Justice.
Non-Orthodox groups cannot pray in their customary mixed-gender prayer groups at the central Western Wall plaza, which is designated for Orthodox prayer only.
Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai denounced the activities of the activists on Wednesday as “baseless hatred,” adding that, “because of people like this the Temple was destroyed.”Darkenu, a non-partisan NGO, sent a letter to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other ministers demanding that progress be made as quickly as possible on the Western Wall agreement that is intended to create egalitarian prayer spaces at the site.Darkenu also called for an increased police presence to allow Jews of all streams of Judaism to pray at the egalitarian section of the Western Wall."As a religious, Orthodox Jew, I am ashamed at religious Jews spreading hate on Tisha Be'Av," said Darkenu CEO Yair “Yaya” Fink."The Western Wall belongs to all Jews in the world."
Separately, Bennett warned of the historic danger of disunity to the Jewish people and its failure to complete an eighth decade of united sovereignty, in comments he published Saturday night.
“Twice we failed and lost our Jewish state: This time we will preserve it,” vowed Bennett in remarks he posted to Facebook Saturday night.
The prime minister made several references to the historical loss of united Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel in ancient times during the last election campaign and period of coalition negotiations, arguing that holding more rounds of elections would endanger the modern Jewish state.
“The Jewish people twice had a Jewish state on the Land of Israel, and both times we did not succeed to complete the eighth decade as an independent state, because of internal wars and baseless hatred,” wrote the prime minister.
The Kingdom of Israel of the 11th and 10th centuries BCE split into two parts 78 years after King David took the throne, while the independent Hasmonean Kingdom of the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE was conquered by the Romans after 73 years of independence.
“Now that we have again, for the third time, an independent state, and we are in its eight decade, we must do everything we can to protect it – forever,” wrote Bennett.
He said that as a child, he never understood the Talmudic statement that the Second Temple was destroyed by “baseless hatred,” but that today he understood all too well, in reference to current political divides and societal schisms.
“At the time of the Roman siege on Jerusalem, the nation was divided, each group entrenched itself in its own position and burned the food stores of the others as part of the internal power struggle, so the Romans had a much easier task,” wrote Bennett.
“The bitter end we all know, and until today every year on this date we mourn the awful destruction – which a people with a little more baseless love, restraint and listening could have saved us from.
“In the end, we are all brothers, and we live in the same home,” the prime minister said. “If we argue less and listen more, perhaps we will not all have our appetites satiated but we will succeed in protecting our home and achieve a lot more. We don’t have to agree but we must not hate each other.”