Armed journalist shows up security failings at Western Wall

An Israeli TV report aired Monday revealed serious security shortcomings at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, as a journalist posing as an ultra-Orthodox Jew was able to bring in knives and a fake explosive belt into Judaism’s holiest site on Saturday without undergoing any security screening.

The report by Channel 2 (Hebrew) suggested that anyone could exploit the lax security for religious Jews on Saturdays in order to carry out a terror attack, with the potential for harm further heightened by the sensitivity of the site and its proximity to the Old City’s Muslim Quarter, which has been the site of a number of terror attacks over the years.

At all of the four entrances to the Western Wall Plaza, visitors are required to walk through a metal detector and place their bags in an x-ray machine to ensure that they are not carrying any weapons.

However, religious Jews are exempt from this is on Saturdays, as the use of electronic devices is forbidden on Judaism’s day of rest, and setting off the metal detector would be a violation of Jewish law. Instead, religious Jews can request a manual body search.

Despite this policy, the journalist was able to successfully pass through three of the four entrances to the Western Wall Plaza without being searched, with security at the site seemingly paying him no attention despite carrying out thorough searches of the rest of the visitors.

The journalist did not attempt to access the site through the fourth entrance, located at the southern end of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City.

After entering the site, the journalist was able to roam around the Western Wall freely and approach worshipers and tourists without arousing any suspicion.

The report noted that Saturday is the most crowded day at the Western Wall, as throngs of religious Jews come to pray at the site for Shabbat, which further raises the potential for a mass-casualty attack, especially if a potential terrorist were to wear an explosive belt, as the report showed is possible.

Security at the Western Wall is handled by the private security firm Amishav, which describes itself on its website as “one of the leading security and protection companies in Israel” and boasts that some of its guards hail from “some of the most elite IDF combat units.”

In response to the report, Amishav told Channel 2 that “an investigative committee will be established that will draw the necessary conclusions and carry out changes and adjustments with the customer (the Western Wall Rabbi) as will be required.”

The Israel Police told Channel 2 that Amishav is expected to “protect the public’s safety and security” as part of its contract to handle security at the Western Wall, while adding that if procedures for security at the site “are not implemented, the police will act accordingly.”