Tel-Chai Nation

The extremists in Mea Shearim are giving a leftist outfit with questionable motivations more ammunition when it's better not to:

One week after Women of the Wall launched an ad campaign promoting bat mitzva ceremonies at the Western Wall on Egged buses in Jerusalem, the women’s prayer rights group said on Monday night that several of the advertisements have been defaced by ultra-Orthodox extremists.

According to the organization, the campaign is designed to encourage girls to hold bat mitzva ceremonies at the holy site, with a Torah scroll if they choose, although women are presently unable to read from the Torah at the site under current religious regulations.

Women of the Wall director Lesly Sachs said 50 percent of the images featuring young women were torn down, and the tires of some of the public buses were slashed, in the primarily ultra-orthodox neighborhood of Mea She’arim.

“It is sad to yet again see the ultra-Orthodox men take the law into their own hands and using Judaism as an excuse for the use of force, threat and violence against women,” Sachs said. “We call on ultra-Orthodox leadership to strongly denounce this act of violence and all others.”

[...] Since the ad campaign was launched, the women’s group claims that it has received over 60 calls from Israeli women inquiring about holding a bat mitzva at the Western Wall, as well as numerous harassing calls.

I decidedly would have no issue about their holding bat mitzvahs there, even if it's Reform style, and again, I'm disgusted at how these Haredi crackpots are once again causing a lot of trouble over peanuts. Once again, it's clear they want to help WotW gain ground, and the Western Wall's manager may have to take some blame for his own blubbering too. As sad as it makes me whenever Reforms take anti-Israel stances - something the Haredi extremists have in common with them - the custom they practice with prayer shawls is the least of my problems with them. One sure thing, bat mitzvahs are definitely something everyone should be allowed to practice at the Western Wall.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Jerusalem, Judaism, misogyny, Moonbattery