A group of religious Jews arrived at the egalitarian area at the Kosel and set up a mechitzah to separate between men and women. This is the area at the southern portion of the Kosel intended for non-Orthodox prayer, which of course involves men and women together, without a separation.

One of the organizers of the mechitzah event, carried out by members of the ‘chardal’ (chareidi dati leumi) community, Betzalel Zini, explained “This is part of the effort to uncover the lie of the Reform movement. While they try to claim that they are “most of the world’s Jews” and “lovers of the state,” Israel knows the truth – millions of Jews arrive every year for slichos at the Kosel, during Chol Hamoed Sukkos, Tisha B’Av and on regular days, in total holy separation. This is also the case on chol hamoed, when Am Yisrael visits the Kosel in a call to preserve the kedusha in its entirety”.

On the Facebook page of “Ezrat Yisrael – the egalitarian expansion of the Western Wall,” they vehemently attacked the group of religious activists: “Call your bullying prayer as much as you like, but it will not change what really happens. You have the entire northern Wall at your disposal but you choose to invest a great deal of effort and money to bring worshipers to the wall of families, to the Ezrat Yisrael, just so you can demonstratively put up a partition and pray in separation to mark this as your as well. To pray, you know how to do but your actions are ugly, immoral and not Jewish. However, expectations from you are not high. We call on the Government of Israel to enforce the Kosel outline explicitly as defined, as the custom of this place, egalitarian prayer without a mechitzah…”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)