The Jerusalem police commissioner sent a letter to Women of the Wall today warning that it would enforce the law prohibiting women’s public prayer at the Western Wall, including the recitation of the mourner’s kaddish. The group’s chairperson, Anat Hoffman, called the warning a “shanda.” Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who oversees the Western Wall, ” has, without a doubt, crossed a clear red line, as women’s right to say Kaddish is respected and accepted by the entire Jewish world, including Orthodox factions.”
Jewish Agency Chair Natan Sharansky, who has been charged with finding a solution to the controversy surrouniding Women of the Wall, said that Rabinowitz assured him during a meeting that contrary to the letter, no woman would be arrested for reciting Kaddish at the Kotel.
Hoffman, a former champion swimmer, is taking on Israel’s Orthodox establishment in full force. But as Moment asks in its recent issue, can she win?
Fugedabout Iran — this is Israel’s real existential threat.
We need to protect ourselves against internal and external conflicts.