Supreme Court puts Haredi women at the Kotel in focus

The Supreme Court issued a court order to the police, to the Rav of the Kotel and to the Western Wall heritage Foundation to respond within 30 days with an explanation as to why they allow the regular disturbances by the Haredi women at the Kotel to continue disturbing the prayer sessions of the Women of the Wall by the women's section of the northern plaza of the Kotel.

They must explain why legal action has not been taken against those who try to disturb their prayers and why the Haredi women who disturb using whistles and the like are not removed from the area.

Behadrei points out that this approach by the Supreme Court indicates the Court is taking a "problematic" stance by not recognizing the southern plaza, what has become known as the Reform Kotel, as a solution for the monthly prayer services of Women of the Wall.

Personally I do not see why the Supreme Court must accept that as the solution when the Haredi parties and the government cancelled the agreement offering that as the solution. They themselves do not recognize it as the solution, why should the Supreme Court recognize it? If the Supreme Court would impose that as the solution, the Haredi MKs would have just as much of a problem with it as they did before. The Haredi MKs and community want no official solution because in their eyes any official solution grants Women of the Wall, and the Reform by extension, some form of legitimacy. They prefer that there be no decision but Women of the Wall use the Reform Kotel in an unofficial capacity. The problem is it does not work like that. The Courts will not impose something unofficially. They knew this would happen when they canceled the original agreement, and they knew the Court would be amenable to the other side. The original approach has not worked and they will most likely end up with a worse situation than what the original agreement would have provided.

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