Western Wall Rabbi backs liberal area

JERUSALEM — The rabbi of Judaism’s holiest prayer site Wednesday endorsed a proposal to establish a section where men and women can worship together, a groundbreaking motion that could end a decades-old fight against an Orthodox monopoly of the area.

The fight over the Western Wall has reached a fever pitch in recent months, after police arrested female worshippers who prayed at the site wearing religious garments and leading prayers — acts that Orthodox Judaism permits for men only.

The arrests caused an uproar in Israel and among liberal Jewish leaders in the United States, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to instruct the semi-governmental Jewish Agency to devise a plan that would permit non-Orthodox forms of worship at the holy site.

The Western Wall’s rabbi, Shmuel Rabinovich, told Army Radio Wednesday that while he dislikes non-Orthodox prayer, he would tolerate it in a separate section to end intra-Jewish fighting at the site.

“I want everyone to pray according to Orthodox Jewish religious law, but I don’t interfere,” said Rabinovich, who is Orthodox. “If these things can be done at the Western Wall without hurting others, and this can bring about compromise and serenity, I don’t object.”

The Western Wall is Judaism’s most revered prayer site because it is a remnant of the biblical Jewish temple compound. Worship at the site is administered according to Orthodox Jewish religious custom: The men’s section and smaller women’s section are separated by a divider, and women are not allowed to lead prayer groups or wear prayer shawls, skullcaps or phylacteries — small boxes strapped to the head and arms during prayer.

The pluralistic Reform and Conservative movements, which allow mixed prayer and female rabbis, have long campaigned for recognition in Israel. The two groups however are largely marginalized in the Jewish state despite being popular overseas, especially in the United States. The emerging plan could represent a significant accomplishment by these liberal streams of Judaism.

Under the plan, unveiled by the Jewish Agency Tuesday, Israel would create a permanent area for mixedgender and women-led prayer next to a section of the Western Wall that mainly serves as an archaeological site. Under the proposed plan, a platform would be erected to expand the area and allow liberal prayer 24 hours a day, like the Orthodox section of the site.