Women of the Wall

OK, I've calmed down a bit, and will tackle the "Women of the Wall" issue as best I can. There is an Israeli saying "don't believe anything you read in the papers, except the date, and sometimes the weather".There is no such thing in Israel as an independent news agency. All are politically affiliated, and subject to government censorship. Even the sports teams are party affiliate.Animosities run very deep. There are many factions of religious, secular, and ethnic divisions. as well as variations of political Right and Left. Israel tries to maintain a delicate balance in all of these, usually successfully. No party has ever had a majority in the Knesset, and every government is made up of a shaky coalition. One false move and a party might leave the coalition, resulting in new elections, which few want. The religious- secular divide is especially sensitive. Compromises are in place, which most fear to tamper with. As each faction has existential fears concerning the other factions (I have written in the past about being spat at in Tel Aviv by total strangers becasue of my religious appearance. It happens the other way as well.) When the Kotel was liberated in 1967, it was recognized as a religious, rather than a purely historical site, and handed over to the control of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. There is a rabbi in charge of the Kotel, who has full government authority to enforce religious law at the site. Besides that, there is a law in place against making any significant changes in the public observance of any religion. All this is to keep people from killing each other. When I was there, a young woman made a cartoon depicting Mohammed as a pig. She got five years in jail (released after three for good behavior). If this had not been done, people would have died. Allow me to give an American analogy. In New York City (where I live) a woman has a full legal right to go topless. If she walks into certain Churches and Synagogues (let alone Mosques) she places herself in danger. She is within her legal rights, and anyone trying to stop her, would be punished. But is it a wise idea to challenge these groups? The answer is "no", unless she is "putting her life on the line" to enforce her principles, and perhaps destroy the institution she is challenging. As we have been discussing all along, some religious Jews place the emphasis on "this is the way we've always done it" and some on written sources. This is not relevant to most Israelis, who are secular, and they do not care. From sources, there is no question that women may wear tefillin if they wish. On the other hand, this has rarely been done historically, and would be seen as threatening to many people .In most countries, Jews would simply form different synagogues in which to practice the different interpretations. In Israel, rabbis are government bureaucrats. The rabbi of the Kotal has full legal jurisdiction,For better or for worse, this is the law of the land, arrived at by years of conflict, strife, and compromise. The WOW are NOT a feminist group. They have been denounced by feminist organizations, as the latter are in favor of Muslim rule at the site, as opposed to more, but different, Jewish presence. (For the Muslims, the Kotel (El Buraq) is itself a Muslim shrine. Although most Israelis refer to the WOW as "the Reform Women" their membership consists of women who identify as members of all "denominations". Like the example above of going topless to a house of worship, their intent is to shock and provoke, until the organized rabbinate is broken. This is not unlike the Civil Disobedience practiced by the late Dr. Martin Luther King. Unlike in the case of Dr. King, however, there is no large group yearning for freedom. One government minister who was trying to work out a compromise, related that he had received over 10,000 letters from American Jews on the topic, but barely 100 from Israelis. Most secular Israelis feel that the entire topic is irrelevant, as prayer is "stupid", or, alternatively, that a agonizingly difficult compromise worked out years ago should be kept in place, or else risk civil war. The WOW has provoked loud shouting matches at the Kotel, and some scuffles. One of our members wrote to me earlier that she had "been told" that women were not accommodated at the kotel during Passover. That is totally false. Rather, the WOW announced plans for a massive "Priestly Blessing" done by women. In halacha, this can be interpreted as no big deal..or an actual Biblical prohibition. The rabbi at the kotel gets to make that call. Police prevented the event from happening, in order to prevent bloodshed. I find the strife between Jews in Israel to be sickening and disgusting. We have our divisions in American Jewry as well, except we talk them over. That is sadly lacking in Israel. I mentioned a few days ago that my wife, Sima, sometimes chides me for being a "radical feminist". There is truth in that, but I also know how to talk and find common ground. Please, questions accepted, but not if put in an accusatory form. Everything to do with Israel opens too many old wounds for me.