Celebrating 25 Years of Women of the Wall

The Reform Movement missions include youth, lay leaders and clergy, including a mission from the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and the Women’s Rabbinic Network (WRN) and a NFTY mission, together totaling 69 lay leaders, 28 clergy, and five young adults. Since 1988, WOW, a multi-denominational group of women and their supporters, has been fighting a legal and social battle for recognition of women’s rights to wear prayer shawls, pray communally, and read from the Torah at the women’s section of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Over the years, these brave women have been yelled at, harassed, and arrested for praying according to their custom at the Kotel. On October 16, 2012, Anat Hoffman, WOW’s coordinator and director of the Reform Movement’s Israel Religious Action Center, was arrested for disturbing the peace and endangering the public good for wearing her tallit and saying the Shema out loud. Since that time, there have been important steps towards achieving the goals of WOW, including a decision from the Jerusalem District Court holding that detention of WOW members for their activities at the Kotel was unjustified. The Court also held that requests for restraining orders against WOW were no longer allowed. Leaders of the Reform Movement have been in conversation with Israel government leaders to resolve this situation and create a space at the Kotel that will be available for pluralistic communal prayer. In celebration of Women of Reform Judaism’s Centennial year, WRJ sponsored a trip to Israel and Berlin during which representatives of WRJ celebrated Rosh Chodesh Nisan with WOW. The prayer service at the Kotel was very moving for the WRJ participants, whose experiences are recounted here. Since WOW began 25 years ago, WRJ has supported the efforts of WOW in its advocacy for the advancement of women in religious life in Israel. Together, so much has been accomplished. WRJ looks forward to a time when women can participate religiously at the Kotel in whatever garb or fashion they choose.