Women of the Wall hold prayer service with Torah scroll at Jerusalem’s Western Wall

Women of the Wall, an activist group that advocates for egalitarian prayer and women-led Torah readings to be allowed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, holds a prayer service at the holy site to mark the beginning of the Hebrew month of Elul.

The group gathers each month for a service that includes a Torah reading marking Rosh Chodesh, the first day of the Hebrew calendar month.

There are over 100 Torah scrolls in the Western Wall compound, according to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which manages the site, but none of them are located in the women’s section, in accordance with the customs of Orthodox Judaism.

The Foundation also sets the rules for the holy site, barring private worshippers from bringing scrolls into the area, thus preventing women from bringing in their own.

Last month, ushers from the Foundation clashed with Women of the Wall worshippers.

The Foundation said one of its ushers was taken to a hospital after the women allegedly attacked him when he tried to prevent them from using a Torah scroll smuggled into the site in a baby carrier.

Videos released by both the Foundation and Women of the Wall of the incident last month showed an usher sitting against the wall with his head in his hands.

In the footage released by the prayer group, a man identifying himself as the usher’s boss accuses one of the women of having elbowed him.

Others could be seen trying to grab a bundle — apparently the smuggled Torah scroll — from the hands of one of the women.

In the past, the activists have also been often insulted or harassed by other worshipers at the site.

Established in 1988, Women of the Wall has been fighting the current arrangement at the Western Wall, advocating to allow for female-led and mixed gender prayers. In 2023, it had a minor win when the High Court ruled that security guards at the Western Wall were not permitted to search visitors for Torah scrolls.