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Heeding calls from their rabbis, thousands of ultra-Orthodox teenaged girls and women flooded the Western Wall early Friday morning to prevent close access by a group of women who pray in garments traditionally used by men, while hundreds of black-hatted Orthodox men heckled the group from behind, whistling, catcalling and throwing water, candy and a few chairs at them.
Scores of uniformed police hands locked hands in cordons to protect the group of about 100 women from Women of the Wall, in a tense standoff that exemplified the broad battle in Israel over identity and religion in the public sphere, where holy sites and rites like marriage, divorce and conversion have for decades been controlled by the ultra-Orthodox minority, known here as Haredim.
The confrontation came after a court ruled last month that the women should be allowed to wear prayer shawls and sing out loud at the wall, challenging years of policy and practice that had required visitors to the wall to follow ultra-Orthodox custom. Recently, women in the group had been arrested as they prayed at the wall once a month, sparking outcry among Jews worldwide and prompting a government initiative to reexamine the regulations at the site.
“All this commotion because of a group of women who want to pray to God,” Lesley Sachs, director of Women of the Wall, said after the confrontation. “We hope that the government won’t succumb to any kinds of threats or bullying and they will let us continue praying. This is part of the social battle. They need to get used to us.”
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Reblogged from inothernews
The New York Times, “Three Ultra-Orthodox Men Are Arrested In Confrontation at Western Wall” (via inothernews)
And this is why I avoid religion. Following one person’s opinion doesn’t make you any more holy than those who don’t.
Hi!
