Please get your damn citizens in line! Citizens should not be able to compel the police - it should be the other way around. You just gave them more reason to defy the law for the next time...and there will be a next time.

Judging by the photo and other media it was many thousands of religious women and girls who were first to arrive at the Kosel's women's area. How are they 'provocators'?

I agree with you that the actions of the Women of the Wall are inappropriate. But this was hardly a peaceful protest. Eggs? Bags of water? Not peaceful. Not peaceful at all.

The original High Court ruling gave WoW the third section of the Western Wall, known as Robinson's Arch, to avoid disputes. This is the area that Sharansky and the major streams of American Jews have agreed to further develop. It includes an archaeological garden and has been used for about a decade for Conservative and Reform Bar and Bas Mitzvah celebrations. WoW have found they get better media coverage by not using the section allocated to them and prefer to offend women at the Western Wall women's section. Throughout the Jewish world there are separate locations for Traditional and Reform Jewish services and the Kotel is no different.

They don't belong at the kotel

"Citizens should not be able to compel the police" That is true when you live in a police state tyranny like the US or Britain. Last time I checked the police are public servants. WoW is breaking the law and not the other way around. They were given a seperate space to conduct their show, but since no one prays there they do not go there.They are the ones provoking, they are the ones drawing attention to themselves.

This is bad for international consumption.As a Christian I do not like reading this sort of thing Women should be allowed to pray at the wall in peace. They are God's people as well.

Why does the police give in to the goyishe followers of the Haredi religion, which has nothing to do with Judaism - time to ban them from the wll for all time and revoke their citizenship since they cannot claim to be Israeli under the law of return since they are not Jewish

Demolish it It's just a wall (well done) but just a stone wall Rebuilt one, longer in tel aviv with a lot of parking ,boutiques,and shopping centers The ne in Jerusalem give it to the Palestinian to manage this will be just an other problem that they will have to deal with

You are Rewriting the Torah. 1)Exempt does not mean Forbidden. 2) "Mikhal the daughter of King Saul used to wear tefillin, and the sages did not protest" (Eruvin 96a). 3) Rambam writes: "Women, slaves, and minors are exempt from tzitzit from the Torah...Women and slaves who want to wrap themselves in tzitzit may do so without a berakha. And so too with other such mitzvot from which women are exempt: if they want to perform them without a berakha, one does not protest" (Hilkhot Tsitsit 3:9). 4) Besides Mikhal the daughter of King Saul, stories persist of Rashi's daughters wearing tefillin. Likewise, Fazonia, the first wife of Rabbi Haim ben Attar, wore tallit and tefillin, as did Rabbi Haim's second wife. The Maid of Ludomir (Hanna Rachel Werbermacher) in the 19th century also wore tefillin. 5)The Rashba (1235-1310 Spain) states in a teshuva (responsum): "I agree with those who say that if they desire they can do all such mitzvot and recite the blessings, on the basis of Mikhal bat Shaul who used to wear tefillin and they did not protest; indeed she did so with the approval of the sages (kirtzon hakhamim) and by the nature of the matter since she puts on tefillin she blesses" (Teshuva 123).

46 years ago Isreal sent the cream of her sons to retake the Old City and of course the Wall. Some of those died in the effort, some were maimed for life. Nobody checked before they went in as to which sector of society they belonged to or what their religious affiliation was. They did the job and paid with blood for ALL of Israel and all of its citizens and the Wall is a national treasure. The religious maniacs who try to run this country, with a degree of success I might add, immediately hijacked the Wall and turned it into a synagogue,under what authority were they allowed to do this. Please just understand the implications, a secular soldier laid down his life so that a group of Rabbis could ban his secular friends and relatives from entering the compound, yes, I have seen this happen, a woman whose only "sin" at that moment was short sleeves. Personally I think that these WoW are freaks and are as mad as any other religious nutter of any description whatsoever, but that is irrelevant, they have a right just as anyone else to do as they please and If I were young again I would defend that right with my life if I had to. No one, including the High Court, has a right to determine who will visit the Wall and in what capacity he/she will do so and in what way he/she will pray. The Wall is a national treasure, our history,our heritage, it is not a house of prayer.

If the followers of the Haredi religion hate jews so much - perhaps they will be honest enough to stop stealing our money because it is tainted by being "Jewish". One thging is clear - the hatred by religious extremists - which caused the fall of the temple is still there - at least by their attack on jews praying we can all se that any connection between Haredim and Judaism is purely accidental

Women off the wall is best way to describe these monthly shrieking feminists. They are looking to get attention since their husbands are probably tired of their yapping and aggressive control behavioral antics. Here in America we orthodox Jews have seen the destruction these reformers have caused. The reform and conservative sects will soon be on the dusty shelves of history in the Jewish museums. They are an aging population and intermarrying at a dizzying speed. Their temples are closing left and right and being sold to chareidi branches of Judaism. While chareidim here have between 10 and even 21 kids a family the reform are lucky to have one or two kids. A trapped rat goes wild when its cornered. The reform are trapped with a zero population growth and the exodus of their youth and middleaged members in mass.

A fine of NIS10,000 for contempt of court might wake the police up to their responsibility to provide a suitable area for the Women of the Wall to conduct their prayers.

So you are a WoW supporter. Okay, answer me this- do you support the service that went on at the temple. If not, why is it holy to you, other than the fact the Charadim hold it holy?

woman can, and do pray at the wall, you are falling for WoW propaganda. They are doing non-jewish rituals at the wall.

As your quote of the Rashba points out, that it is permissible if your keeping all mitsvois, not for the heck of it. Why you are doing something is important when permissability is taken into account.

The crises was precipitated by the atty. general when he failed to insist that the lower court follow the decision of the High Court on the matter. Yehuda Weinstein obviously does not believe that israel is a nation of laws. When the High Court rules in a democratic society, a lower court must follow its decision. Remove Weinstein and the problem will be resolved.

Imagine what Pinhas would do in this situation????

The motives of them is not to pray, and it's enough to label Jews. WoW have different agenda which is not appropiate and fall with halacha and our ancient tradition and probaly could be qualify as eresity.

I was at the Kotel at 6:30. Thousands of girls and women (NOT only seminary students) were with me. The police kept the Haredi women from standing in a large section of the women's side and violently pushed the barricades at women who nudged it forward to make room. when I left after praying I looked for these infamous women of the wall--and couldn't find them. contrary to news reports there were far less than 300. I doubt if there were even 30! I am very disappointed in the reporting of the incident, which was full of inaccuracies. Why not interview the Haredi women? Why only self-proclaimed spokespersons fo the reform and conservative groups? I've been davening at the Kotel for 40 years and the women of the wall were not there for 25 years as claimed. It's time for unbiased reporting/

Thank you for pointing this out to the readers. I dont know if you are religious but you certainly are honest. they claim holiness but abuse the holy objects

They are very strict about ritual but do they even understand Jewish values?

Dan this a jewish Country not Brooklyn or Antwerp I can go there and see for your self how much they love you

can you tell me what is a Zionist, I am Haredi and a Zionist what are you?

reform and conservative were created to allow people not to keep their religion and still feel ok about it. of course, they are dying out (only reform doesnt go down in numbers because they all intermarry and then they count the goy and the jew as "jewish"). what young person would want to be part of a joke like reform and conservative? they are less and orthodox is more. now the only thing they can be "more" in is in things that the orthodox would not do, such as activist feminism and gay rights. so reform and conservative today is nothing besides a feminiist and gay rights movement. there is nothing else to them. (if someone could mention something else that they stand for, please tell me)

Avishai the women comes to destroy the holy places if they come to pray you can pray don't bring your misguided prayer books come with respect it is a holy place not with fan fair you can pray at your so called tample your misguided way all we like for you to do is come with respect and we will respect you

#53 do you know anything about Judaism, Halacha? doesn't sound like it!

"Good for these Hardi girls who, according to other reports, peacefully filled up the Kottel area and davened, as they often do, any day of the week. (the disturbances were done by males..) " The Haredi women surrounded WoW, screamed at them and blew whistles. As is the case every time you post a comment here, you don't know what you're talking about.