US antisemitism envoy ‘deeply disturbed’ by ultra-Orthodox disruption of Western Wall bar, bat mitzvahs

Deborah Lipstadt, the US special envoy on antisemitism, responds to an incident last Thursday in which ultra-Orthodox extremists disrupted three bar and bat mitzvah ceremonies at the egalitarian plaza of the Western Wall, shouting, calling the worshipers “Nazis,” “Christians” and “animals,” blowing whistles and ripping up prayer books.

Commenting on The Times of Israel’s coverage, Lipstadt tweets she is “deeply disturbed” by the incidents, arguing that had it occurred outside Israel, it would have widely been regarded as antisemitic.

Deeply disturbed by the troubling actions of a group of extremists last week at the Kotel. Let us make no mistake, had such a hateful incident — such incitement — happened in any other country, there’d be little hesitation in labeling it antisemitism. https://t.co/t1eUs0Fm3b

— Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism (@StateSEAS) July 5, 2022