Kosel Rav Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz Shlita has strongly expressed his objections to police plans to close the Kosel area to mispalalim from midnight on the day Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to visit next month.
The rav explained that no worshiper, including the pope, is more important than others and he does plan to sit by quietly while police seek to prevent regular minyanim from being held while the pope visits the Holy Site. “The pope does not take priority” stated the rav, who feels canceling regular tefillos is unjustified and an unacceptable plan of action.
Rav Rabinowitz is calling for an “acceptable solution” to the security issues at hand, stating he will not cooperate in any way with police towards closing the Kosel off to mispalalim.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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14 Responses
we must stand up a show our collective proteset at such an attrosite
Even when other VIPs went, I assume there was an area set aside for the 24/7/365 davening and tehillim to continue at this holy site. Why should it be different with this former member of the Hitlet youth?
Let’s see if the Muslims will close off their Al-Aqsa mosque to Muslims for a Pope visit. Yeah right! The Muslim attitude comes from their koach in tefillah: “Yishma-El”.
“The rav explained that no worshiper, including the pope”
INCLUDING??? Especially! What chutzpah it is to close the Kosel to any Gentile, much less the head of the church that condoned the killing of Jews for Centuries.
If this is done for security, I am sure he has nothing to fear from FRUM yidden who are at the Kosel to Daven.
But they should close the Temple Mount, because who knows what the Arabs could do!
Ah! But that would not be Politically correct, would it?
If the Pope is truly a religious man, he would not want this cessation of prayer at the Kotel.
I know for a fact they didn’t close off the Kotel to regular mispallelim when Jerry Seinfeld visited the Kotel, and surely no one thinks the pope is more chashuv than him!!!
#6: Gut Gezukt!
TO NO. 7- you too, Gut Gezugt!..
Shtate: Hishbatie Esschem – Shlo yaalu “al choma.” Sorry folks (#1), even with my gr8 pun, on this one, you’e all wrong. The people, if they want, can daven at the Koisel Pnee-mee. The fact is that if Eisav wants to come to the Koisel we really have no right to deny him.
Why make special accommodations for a man who not only bungled the un-excommunication(?) of a Holocaust-denier, but who is in denial himself and refuses to visit Yad V’Shem because it tells the bold truth about his predecessor?
If anything, he’s emphatically LESS important than even the most secular of Jews who wants to beseech Hashem at the Kotel.
#9, While we cannot deny anyone the right to go to the kotel, it is appalling to close down the kotel to any other person who would go there to daven at the same time. If anything there should be an even greater throng of yidden davening there when the pope arrives.
to the editor: I think there is a typo. Paragraph 2 line 2 should read:”…and he does NOT plan to sit by quietly”
To #9 – Nobody said anything about denying him access, the problem is the “authorities” want to deny EVERYBODY ELSE access while he is there (and undoubtedly for some period before and after as well). ummmmm… I don’t think so!
#9 – Why don’t you just roll over dead? We have every right to deny the head of an idol worshiping cult – from coming anywhere near our holiest site. The fact that that you are siding with the Zionists on this issue, says a lot about your train of thought. Lets remember that this is not Eisav, this is a wacko who believes that our great uncle is a god. Who are you to allow him and all he represents from even setting foot in our holy land.
Just as Mordechai did not bow down to haman, we G-d fearing Jews will not bend over backwards for this abomination; even if there are some Jews that will hide behind political correctness or misguided “halacha”.