Police must start preventing harassment of Women of the Wall convincingly
For many months, Women of the Wall’s prayer services for the New Moon have been the subject of severe harassment by Orthodox protestors, including the mass use of whistles, shrieking, cursing and even physical violence against worshipers.While I'm aware even the WOTW or the Reform movement aren't innocent in all this either (certainly not if they favor the PLO), I will say that it still doesn't exonerate the Haredis who're engaging in a lot of obnoxious behavior at the site. Interesting the paper fails to specify that it's almost entirely the ULTRA-Orthodox who're committing this embarrassment, and don't be shocked if quite a few of them are just as anti-Zionist (and pro-PLO as the Reform reps themselves could be). In that case, you could just as well argue neither side belong at the Western Wall and the Temple Mount.
The worshipers have long complained that the police have failed to intervene and prevent such harassment despite it being a criminal violation of the law, while also alleging that orderlies of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation also do not do enough to prevent the harassment.
However, the court’s demands did not explicitly state that it was concerned specifically about the harassment of the Women of the Wall services, referring to “videos” showed during Sunday’s hearing, which included footage of progressive Jewish prayer groups forcing their way into the Western Wall plaza with Torah scrolls, and Women of the Wall with a Torah scroll they smuggled into the site, against current regulations.
The court also demanded to know who erected a high, solid barrier alongside the main entrance to the Western Wall which blocks all view of the Egalitarian section and why it was erected.
The progressive movements and Women of the Wall allege that the administrator of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, did so in order to prevent the public from even seeing the egalitarian site.
Should the Reform be forcing their way through with all that gear? Maybe not, but in any case, the Haredis aren't doing any favors with their own vulgar attitude.
Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Jerusalem, Judaism, misogyny, Moonbattery