Egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall

Western Wall compromise: Israel's High Court to hold hearing

This is the first hearing taking place on the issue in the past two years and the first during this government. 

Members of the Women of the Wall, Conservative and Reform Movement  hold Rosh Hodesh prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Old City, March 4, 2022.
 MK Gilad Kariv holds a Torah Scroll during Rosh Hodesh prayer of women of the wall, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Old City, February 22, 2023.

Reform rabbis hold prayers at Kotel, Noam Party activists protest in egal section

The Western Wall.

What’s behind the exaggerated proposed Kotel legislation?

 US AMBASSADOR Thomas Nides arrives at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on December 5, 2021, to present his credentials.

Nides lights candles at egalitarian Kotel; Gantz heckled at main site


High Court demands update on upgrades to Western Wall egalitarian section

Women of the Wall’s prayer services for the New Moon have been the subject of severe harassment by Orthodox protestors, including the mass use of whistles, shrieking, cursing and physical violence.

MEMBERS OF THE World Union for Progressive Judaism pray in the Western Wall plaza

High Court asks progressive groups tough questions in Western Wall hearing

“You don’t need the legislature to tell you it's the Western Wall, it is the Western Wall. Everything we’re talking about is symbolic. Even if it’s not recognized in law, it is the Western Wall."

Members of "Women of the Wall" pray with a Torah scroll during a monthly prayer near the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City July 24, 2017

Against the wall

The debacle surrounding the Kotel reflects the degree to which Netanyahu’s ruling party, the Likud, is beholden to the special interest parties of his coalition, especially the Haredim.

Netanyahu at Western Wall

Expanded seven-judge panel to hear Western Wall petitions

The progressive Jewish movements and the Women of the Wall organization have petitioned the court.

A general view shows Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City

Watch: Israel Conservative movement slams Netanyahu over Western Wall comments

A video created by Israel Masorti (Conservative) Movement accuses Netanyahu of using 'alternative facts' when discussing the Western Wall.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Time to end Netanyahu's political cowardice: Enact the Kotel compromise

“Peace” involves respecting fellow Jews, not just reconciling with enemies.

Women reading selichot -- Jewish penitential poems and prayers said leading up to the High Holidays -- at the Western Wall before Rosh Hashana

Poll: Majority support pluralistic prayer at Kotel

But survey of Jewish-Israelis shows near split on acceptance of women reading from the Torah

Anat Hoffman and another woman at the Entrance to Kotel; from Women of the Wall

Progressive Jewish leaders blast 'mixed-sex space' at Kotel, call for real solution

The rift over the future of the egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall continues to deepen.

Birkat Kohanim at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

‘Mechitza’ (separation) at the Western Wall – and the unity of Israel

The rabbis and leaders of the Jewish Theological Seminary prayed separately until the 1980s, as also did most Reform Jews in Europe before the Holocaust.

Women reading selichot -- Jewish penitential poems and prayers said leading up to the High Holidays -- at the Western Wall before Rosh Hashana

High Court to government: Frozen Western Wall plan 'can be thawed'

Judges indicated they strongly favor the implementation of the now-frozen 2016 government resolution to create a state-recognized egalitarian section at the southern end of the holy site.

Members of "Women of the Wall" pray with a Torah scroll during a monthly prayer near the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City July 24, 2017