Women demanding the right to worship as a group at the Western Wall had their day in court last week.
But the Feb. 27 hearing before a three-judge panel of the High Court of Justice was completely overshadowed by euphoria attending the end of the Persian Gulf war, although the outcome could profoundly affect the nature of Israeli society.
Women of the Wall, an Israeli group, and its overseas support organization, the International Committee for Women of the Kotel, are suing the Israeli government, the Chief Rabbinate and the Israeli police for failing to secure the women’s right of religious expression and freedom of access to the most holy site of the Jewish faith.
The women appealed to the High Court two years ago, demanding the right to pray at the Wall as a group, with Torah scroll and prayer shawls. Their appeal followed an encounter at the Wall during which the women were cursed and assaulted by traditionalist Orthodox Jews.
The authorities have since criminalized the chanting of prayers and touching of sacred objects by women in the Western Wall plaza.
The women, who say they do nothing that violates halachah, or traditional Jewish law, have accused the authorities of blatant discrimination against women and pandering to the prejudices of Orthodox groups.
The High Court bench was occupied by the president of the court, Meir Shamgar, flanked by Justices Menahem Elon and Shlomo Levin.
The women are represented by Arnold Spaer, one of Israel’s foremost legal experts.
The state and the religious establishment have deployed their legal heavy artillery in the persons of Deputy State Prosecutor Nilli Arad; Menachem Terlo, representing the religious political parties; and Rabbi Simcha Meron, representing a group of rabbis.
AN ISSUE OF RELIGIOUS ACCESS
Their basic argument is that the women disrupt public order because their very presence at the site arouses angry emotions. The state also contends the court is in no position to adjudicate an issue of such emotional religious impact.
Spaer contended that the state’s actions were arbitrary, inasmuch as the Western Wall is not a synagogue nor is it the possession of one faction or another, but rather a holy site sacred to all Jews. He pointed out that there are no laws that govern prayer at the site.
Spaer also argued that since the State of Israel is the protector and guarantor of freedom of access to many sites holy to several religions, it is unprecedented to allow one faction or denomination in a religion to impose its practice on others of the same faith at a holy site.
The state’s brief contained the opinions of several current and former chief rabbis of Israel, and other rabbis who decried women’s prayers as “the work of the devil” and “desecration.”
Some of the rabbis’ statements denounced the women as “stubborn” and “heretics.”
The court adjourned without setting a date for its next hearing.
Meanwhile, the women are barred from praying according to their custom. But they do meet every Friday morning for a demonstrative prayer session at the Western Wall.
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