A group of 170 visiting representatives of the North American Reform movement held a mixed prayer service at the Western Wall. The group of men and women, under heavy police protection, were left undisturbed by fervently Orthodox Jews who call for the separation of sexes during prayers. Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau told Israel Radio he considered the Reform service to be “more of a demonstration than a prayer service,” adding that he hoped the Reform movement’s desire for confrontation had “been satisfied for the moment.”
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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.