Women of the Wall to resume prayers at the Western Wall
CEO of Women of the Wall said that one can only imagine how the Western Wall would be perceived by every Jewish person from Israel and from the diaspora, had the Kotel compromise gone through.
By TOBIAS SIEGALWOMEN OF THE Wall dance with a Torah scroll at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Women of the Wall will hold the Rosh Hodesh Tamuz prayer at the Western Wall on Tuesday, June 23, at 07:00 AM, marking three years since the annulment of the Kotel compromise.The Kotel compromise was aimed at establishing a non-Orthodox mixed prayer area in the southern area of the Western Wall, greatly affecting women’s Rosh Hodesh prayer groups that meet there monthly, and preventing non-Orthodox activity from taking place anywhere near the Western Wall itself.The Kotel compromise caused a great rift between the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox,) and the Reform and Conservative communities, who felt like the status-quo was excluding their traditions. It also affected the Israel-diaspora relations, with many feeling like the compromise wasn't representative of all sectors of the Jewish world, and only served a narrow interest of a small group. CEO of Women of the Wall, Yochi Rappeport, said in a press release that one can only imagine how the Western Wall would be perceived by every Jewish person from Israel and from the diaspora, had the Kotel compromise gone through."The State of Israel missed out on a historic opportunity of making the Western Wall, the most holy place for the Jewish religion, a place of worship and a home for every Jewish individual. Instead, we see monthly instances of the Western Wall being disgraced with violence and foul language," Rappeport wrote.Three years after the proposed compromise was rejected by the government, preventing the said exclusion of women and other streams of Judaism from praying according to their own customs, Women of the Wall will return to the Western Wall to carry out the Rosh Hodesh Tamuz prayer, celebrating the birth of the new moon, which is considered a minor holiday in Jewish tradition.
