The “Wall War” is more than a battle for shared space
Criminalising how and who prays at the Western Wall is a matter for us all, regardless of our religiosity or affiliation.
This week, fifty-six Knesset members representing Israel’s extremist coalition Government voted to give unchecked legal control over prayer at the Western Wall to political appointees who have repeatedly opposed the religious rights of women and LGBTQ people, and denounced the work of the Reform and Conservative Movements in Israel. Transgression of any of their proposed draconian laws could result in a prison sentence of up to seven years.
We should all be alarmed by this declaration of war on Jewish life. This issue is not simply about egalitarian prayer; it goes to the heart of what it means today for Israel to be both a Jewish and Democratic State.
Currently, prayer at the Kotel is controlled by the Rabbi of the Western Wall. He decides who is allowed to read from the one hundred Torah scrolls he has control over. He unsurprisingly allows only men to use these scrolls. Should it pass, implementation of the bill will move the dial, giving the Israeli Orthodox Chief Rabbinate exclusive authority over all sections of the Western Wall, disregarding the prayer and practise of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, and the prayer rights of women and minority groups. Rabbis Charley Baginsky and Josh Levy, Co-Leads of Progressive Judaism in the UK stated: “Advancing legislation that would effectively outlaw egalitarian worship… risks breaking faith with millions of Jews in Israel and across the Diaspora”.
The coercion and control at the Kotel plays out every month when women from Orthodox, Reform and Conservative communities join together to pray on Rosh Chodesh. They face relentless harassment. Their bags are searched for “offensive items” such as Torah scrolls, talitot, and tefillin, resulting in intimidation, abuse and arrests.
I am a proud Progressive Jewish woman. Uncensored prayer and practise matter to me and to my husband and sons. So much so that in 2014 we risked losing a treasured family heirloom: the smallest (we believe) kosher Sefer Torah in the world (13cm tall) brought out of Europe by my husband’s great-grandparents. Our handbag-sized Torah scroll was smuggled in and read at the first bat mitzvah celebrated at the Kotel. Had it been found, it would surely have been confiscated and lost forever.
The current crisis was sparked by a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Government to implement the 2016 Kotel Agreement to establish a non, gender-segregated prayer space. In a swift counter-action, the 56 MKs voted to pass a bill to override this ruling and criminalise non-Orthodox practice. In her response, Orly Erez-Likhovski, Executive Director of IRAC (Israel Religious Action Center) emphasised that equality at the Wall is “the necessary condition for a dignified and respectful alternative that reflects the lived Jewish reality of the majority of contemporary world Jewry”.
The battle to protect religious values and religious freedom in Israel is not new. Supported by the grant making capability of the New Israel Fund, civil society organisations like IRAC, Women of the Wall and ACRI (Association for Civil Rights in Israel) have been working for decades supporting women, protecting non-Orthodox Jewish practise and status matters relating to marriage, divorce, conversion and burial. Having just returned from Israel this past week, I saw this work in action, in the daily commitment of our NIF grantees, and in the courts and the Knesset.
“So why does the battle for a shared space and religious freedom at the Kotel matter? It matters because a Jewish state that fosters pluralism, equality and democracy is what strengthens us Jews, whatever form our Judaism takes. In a world where Jewish people are targets of hate and violence, not because of how they practise their Judaism but simply because they are Jewish, we must pick our battles. Those pushing draconian measures and religious coercion are pitting Jews against each other when sadly we have many others we need to stand against together.”
Just as this year, Israelis will choose the direction that they want their country to take, those of us who are deeply connected to Israel must choose between support for those moving Israel into the realms of theocracy, and those striving to uphold Israel’s founding values so clearly set out in the Declaration of Independence.
Noeleen Cohen is the Chair of the New Israel Fund and a Trustee of the Movement for Progressive Judaism.
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