Fervently Orthodox men in Israel threw chairs and shouted curses at a group of women who were trying to pray at the Western Wall to mark the beginning of the Jewish month of Kislev.
Tuesday’s attack was prompted when the men took offense that some of the women in the group wore religious skullcaps and prayer shawls.
The incident came as the High Court of Justice is considering a petition from the group, Women of the Wall, to pray at the Kotel.
Last month, the court instructed the government to find appropriate prayer arrangements for the group, a cross-section of Orthodox and non-Orthodox women who have been mounting a legal battle over the matter for years.
In an unprecedented move, the court also instructed the Religious Affairs Ministry to pay the legal expenses of the petitioners.
Anat Hoffman, a Meretz Jerusalem council member, who was among the group of worshipers attacked this week, said boards and other objects were hurled over the partition separating the men’s and women’s prayer areas at the Western Wall Plaza.
Police arrived and requested that the women leave the area and conclude their service in the public parking area outside the plaza.
“We came in good faith,” Hoffman told Israel Radio, ‘and as a result, we were the ones taken out of the Wall area.”
The court, she said, referring to last month’s ruling, “has had it with the government dragging its feet for 8 1/2 years and not coming up with a solution.”
“The court has recognized that we have a right to pray in the Kotel area,” and that a way to implement this must be found that “would least hurt the feelings of others. We agreed with that.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
