Progressive Jewish women held a prayer service at the Western Wall plaza on Monday amid jeering from a number of ultra-Orthodox protesters but few other disturbances.
In addition, a woman was escorted away and briefly detained after trying to enter the men's section of the gender-divided prayer space to fetch a Torah scroll after hers was confiscated.
A Torah belonging to Women of the Wall board member Rachel Cohen Yeshurun was taken away by officials from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which operates the site.
Rules established by Shmuel Rabinovitch, the rabbi of the Western Wall, permit women to wear prayer shawls, but strictly forbids the bringing of a Torah to the Wall.
Cohen Yeshurun, who then went over to the men's side of the plaza to get another Torah to use in the service, was kicked out of the holy site by guards.
A spokeswoman for the Women of the Wall organization told The Times of Israel that the monthly Rosh Hodesh prayer service was interrupted by a handful of Haredi women blowing whistles and banging wooden lecterns on the ground.
“It was unpleasant, but not terrifying,” the spokeswoman said, noting that the worshipers faced less opposition than at last month’s service.
The prayer, which was attended by 60 women and included a bat mitzvah, coincided with the start of the new Jewish month of Elul.
The services included women blowing ram’s horns, or shofars, typically connected with Elul and the upcoming Jewish New Year.
Women of the Wall run gender egalitarian services at the Jewish holy site in defiance of the state-imposed ultra-Orthodox regulations at the Wall.
Israel’s Orthodox rabbinical establishment wields a monopoly over key aspects of religious life in the country, such as marriage, divorce and burial, while Reform and Conservative rabbis are not recognized and their movements are largely marginalized. Unlike in the US, most Jews in Israel, while secular, follow Orthodox traditions.
The Western Wall, a remnant of the ancient Jewish Temple complex, is the holiest site where Jews may pray. It is currently administered by ultra-Orthodox rabbinic authorities. The site designates separate men’s and women’s prayer sections and forbids non-Orthodox prayer, like mixed-gender services and women-led prayers.
Women of the Wall has caused controversy for holding monthly non-Orthodox prayers at the site. Police have previously arrested women carrying Torah scrolls and wearing religious articles traditionally reserved for men, practices ultra-Orthodox Jews oppose and consider a provocation.
A planned multidenominational prayer space directly south of the Western Wall plaza, meant to soothe tensions at the holy site, has become mired in government infighting.
