From the Liveblog of
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Court bans Western Wall bag searches for Torah scrolls, in limited victory for Women of the Wall
Cnaan Lidor is The Times of Israel's Jewish World reporter
Guards at the Western Wall will now not be authorized to search for Torah scrolls or books in the belongings of visitors entering the holy site, but orderlies will be able continue to enforce rules against unauthorized use of scripture, according to a ruling by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court.
The ruling means that the Women of the Wall group will now be allowed to bring Torah scrolls into the women section as part of their monthly prayers — but that officials could intervene once the Torah scroll is taken out of their bags.
Yesterday’s ruling — on a lawsuit filed in 2021 by activists for the rights of non-Orthodox Jews — says that security guards may only search the belongings of visitors for objects that jeopardize public safety.
But the ruling also states that the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which is responsible for running the site, may intervene to enforce its regulations, which prohibit certain uses of scripture because they do not conform with Orthodox Jewish practices.
The reading of the Torah aloud by women is at the center of the lawsuit, filed in 2021 by Anat Hoffman, the executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, or IRAC, which is the legal arm of the Reform movement in Israel, and by Tamar Gottlieb, vice chair of the Women of the Wall egalitarian prayer group.
Women of the Wall activists and others routinely attempt to bring in Torah scrolls for public Torah readings by women at the Western Wall. Orthodox rabbis object to women’s singing and reading at the Western Wall, citing interpretations of Jewish law that deem this immodest.
Women of the Wall often try to have a Torah scroll brought in by MK Gilad Kariv, using his immunity, but Haredi men at the site sometimes manage to prevent him from managing to pass it to the women’s section.
IRAC calls the ruling a significant legal victory for groups seeking to liberalize Jewish worship at the site. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation also says the ruling vindicates its practices, which it says in a statement conform to the law.
