Court bans Torah bag searches at Western Wall, in limited win for Women of the Wall

Guards at the Western Wall may not search for Torah scrolls or books in the belongings of visitors entering the holy site, but orderlies may continue to enforce rules against unauthorized use of scripture, a Jerusalem court has ruled.

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court’s ruled Wednesday on a lawsuit filed in 2021 by Anat Hoffman — the executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, or IRAC, the legal arm of the Reform movement in Israel — and Tamar Gottlieb, vice chair of the Women of the Wall egalitarian prayer group.

It represents a significant legal victory by groups seeking to liberalize Jewish worship at the site, several promoters of that cause have said. But the authority that runs the site said the ruling vindicates its policies.

IRAC filed the lawsuit on behalf of two women whose bags were searched, allegedly discriminatively, as part of the steps that the authority managing the site has taken to restrict certain types of worship that don’t conform with Orthodox practices, including reading aloud from the Torah by women.

Orly Erez Likhovski, IRAC’s executive director, called the ruling “a clear step toward freedom of religion in Judaism’s holiest site.” It also stops “searches that have taken place illegally for many years now,” she told The Times of Israel on Thursday.

The lawsuit was filed against the regulations and practices of security guards employed by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which is responsible for running the site. The foundation has instructed guards to search for Torah scrolls as a response to the attempts of activists, especially from the Women of the Wall group, to use them in egalitarian Torah readings at the site, especially on Rosh Hodesh, the first day of each Hebrew calendar month. Activists carrying scripture have been denied access to the site in the past.

The judge ordered the foundation to conduct searches “without discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, affiliation and religious view” and to adhere to the law, which permits searches to be conducted to address security and safety concerns. However, according to the ruling, the Western Wall rabbi, who works for the Chief Rabbinate, and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation are authorized to enforce the code of conduct of the site, which precludes vocal prayer by women.

“Inspections will not infringe on authorities afforded by the Law of Authorities and conform to its purposes as stipulated in clause 1, to assure public safety against terrorism and violence,” the ruling states. “No inspection will take place to locate a Torah and prevent its introduction to the Western Wall Plaza. The court clarifies that this does not prevent orderlies from enforcing regulations of the site,” it adds.

Yizhar Hess, a vice chairman of the World Zionist Organization representing the Masorti Movement’s MERCAZ faction, said in a statement that the court’s ruling “restores sanity to the security checkpoints at the Kotel,” the site’s name in Hebrew. “Instead of focusing on searching for weapons and explosives, the Kotel rabbi’s security guards have long searched for Torah scrolls, heaven forbid a woman read from the Torah and ‘endanger public security.’ This absurdity has now come to an end,” Hess said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Western Wall Heritage Foundation insisted it has adhered to the law and said it will continue to do so.

“The court reflected the existing reality in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court, in which the security guards provide security, and ushers enforce regulations. The court ruled that the procedure of not allowing the entry of a Torah scroll is legal,” the foundation said.

Women of the Wall are trying to “turn their failure into a victory,” the statement by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation added.