KNESSET MEMBERS ADVOCATE PLURALISM AT THE KOTEL Knesset members disappointed by events transpired yesterday at Kotel
Jerusalem Israel -- Women of the Wall (WOW) members joined Chairperson, Anat Hoffman today at the Knesset for a special session examining the current status of religious intolerance and gender-segregation at the Kotel.
Hoffman was stopped upon entry to the Knesset for toting her tallis. Security of the Knesset told Hoffman, permission was required in advance for the presence of the sacred prayer shawl.
Present at today's conference were Knesset members Nitzan Horowitz and Shlomo Molla, advocates for pluralism in Israel. Horowitz and Molla expressed tremendous shock after viewing video footage of yesterday's forceful arrest. Both Knesset members were disappointed by the events that transpired between Hoffman and police.
The focus of today's session was gender-segregation and the ultra-Orthodox rabbinical doctrine of the Kotel. Currently, the Kotel is controlled by the Foundation for Heritage of the Wall, an organization that receives ten and millions in funds each year to promote the same brand of zealot Judaism. Knesset members expressed a desire to pass a law that will end the religious monopoly of the Kotel.
There was a somber moment at today's discussion, when supporters of a pluralistic Kotel stated that they feared they would not live to see a mixed place of worship. Lobbyist nostalgically remembered the Kotel with a barrier free wall prior to 1967.
The conclusion of the meeting ended with the following goals – To get rid of the signs, rules and regulations that separate men and women at the Kotel, to dismantle the Foundation for Heritage of the Wall and to create an open area for all worshipers not dictated by myopic zealots.
Click here to watch video of Anat Hoffman's arrest at the Kotel
