Last month, Women of the Wall tried to pray outside the barricade, in the main women’s area.
In a statement, Women of the Wall said it was “astounded by the nerve of the Western Wall rabbi" who "instead of removing those who have been disrupting the prayers of Women of the Wall and using violence against them for the past two years – is trying to threaten Women of the Wall members, who are asking to fulfil their right to pray as they see fit.”
In November 2016, there were major clashes when Women of the Wall and the Conservative and Reform movements tried to march towards the Kotel with Torah scrolls, in protest at the Israeli government’s failure to create a promised specific Kotel plaza for them to pray at.
Torah scrolls are normally banned from the Women’s section at the Kotel and Orthodox protestors tried to stop the women carrying Torah scrolls from reaching the Wall, leading to violence.
At the time, Rabbi Rabinovich described the Progressive protest as an abuse of Torah scrolls and said Women of the Wall were causing a “civil war.”
In response, Anat Hoffman, chair of Women of the Wall’s board, said Rabbi Rabinovitch was “holding the Torah hostage”, by insisting that only men can read from it at the Wall.
