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Sharansky Defends Women’s Prayer at Kotel

The Jewish Agency chief promises that no arrests will be made

by
Adam Chandler
April 04, 2013
Natan Sharansky(ReligionandState)
Natan Sharansky(ReligionandState)

Following an uproar about Jerusalem police commissioner’s threat to arrest women who recite Kaddish at the Western Wall earlier today, Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky has weighed in.

Sharansky, who is leading a commission to produce recommendations for prayer at the Wall, met with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz (whose organization oversees the Wall) and pledged that female worshipers should not fear arrest.

“The Kotel must continue to be a symbol of unity for all Jews in the world and not a symbol of strife and discord,” Sharansky told Rabinowitz.

Good, so it’s all settled then!

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.