Women Praying at the Western Wall

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The topic of women praying at the Western Wall has been an ongoing debate not only among ultra-orthodox Jews and feminists, but now the Women of the Wall (WOW) are becoming divided on the issue of where to pray at the wall. While on November, 4, 2013, the group celebrated their 25 anniversary, it is at this moment in the group’s history that they are the most divided. In his article, “Women of Wall Deeply Split over Anat Hoffman’s Acceptance of Prayer Deal,” Nathan Jeffay discusses the issues WOW is currently facing both internally and externally.
In October of 2013, WOW decided to move their demonstrations from the Kotel's prayer gallery for women to a quieter piece of the wall known as Robinson’s Arch. The group denies allegations that this move was due to ultra-Orthodox anti-WOW demonstrations held at the Kotel’s section in the past. The decision to move was approved by the WOW board by a 9-2 majority. While this ratio portrays that the majority of the group supports the decision to move, there are many women who are devastated by this decision. Twenty-one WOW founders have signed a petition stating that they will continue to fight for the ability to pray at the Kotel plaza because for many of these women, Robinson’s Arch is simply a second-rate site.
The organization’s decision was made in the midst of Israeli government negotiations on creating an egalitarian section of the wall. The group has been asked to be involved in the planning process of these negotiations; however, in return for their involvement, they must agree to stop wearing prayer shawls and reading Torah at the Kotel’s women’s section. So now the problem for the group is this: if it cannot contain its rebels from continuing to pray at Kotel, it could...

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... at the wall. Progressive women and laws allowing these women to pray at the wall would signal a change in the political demographic. The ultra-orthodox control would slowly begin to fade. This could be extremely terrifying for a group that has been known to cast other forms of Judaism as invalid. For ultra-orthodox Jews, it would mean individuals who are not really Jewish would have control in Jerusalem.
The topic of women praying at the Western Wall has been an ongoing debate not only among ultra-orthodox Jews and feminists, but now the Women of the Wall (WOW) are becoming divided on the issue of where to pray at the wall. It is at this moment in the group’s history that they are the most divided. The group is discovering how they, as women, can achieve equality to Jewish women can experience the same closeness to God and tradition that has long eluded them.

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