In the summer of 1967, in the months after the Six-Day War, the government had to decide if the Kotel was to be considered part of the Education Ministry (as a historical site) or the Religious Ministry. Since people had already "voted with their feet" and were davening there every day, the decision was easy. Imagine if the decision had gone the other way...
Until 1948, the Kotel was only a shul on the Yamim Noraim, and even that was relatively recent. It was a holy site, the same as, say, Kever Rachel. (That's why there were many actual shuls in the Old City.) What would have happened if it had been treated otherwise? I don't know, maybe there wouldn't have been a neglect of the Har HaBayit, a neglect that both the secular and religious establishments at the time (and now) was just fine with.
The Kotel is treated like a Haredi Shul because the vast majority of people who go to the Kotel are Haredi - If you want to "liberate" the Kotel, all you need to do is encourage non-Haredim to go to the Kotel regularly. How often does Merav Michaeli visit the Kotel? If she went there daily, or even weekly, together with thousands pf like-minded people, the Kotel would no longer be treated like a Haredi SHul.
While we're on the topic - how come most of bars are treated like non-Haredi hangouts, is it because Haredim don't have an interest in hanging out at non-kosher bars?
The closest neighborhoods to the Kotel are charedi, and charedim have more time on their hands. I live less than a half-hour walk to the Kotel and can only get there occasionally. Merav Michaeli lives in Tel Aviv. I don't know about her, but I'm sure lots of secular Israelis would *like* to go to the Kotel more often. But these places have a way of changing. There's no reason the Hurva should have become a charedi shul, but it did.
"The fact that the vast majority think the Kotel is a Haredi shul - that is a breakdown and we must fix it. One day we will need to liberate the Kotel"
This is a gross misrepresentation. The Kotel is treated as an Orthodox shul. There are plenty of Dati Leumi and traditional Jews who pray there and hold ceremonies there (like Bar Mitzvahs) and no one bats an eyelash. All of these people view a "shul" or "bet knesset" as the traditional, Orthodox one, and they respect it accordingly, even if some of them themselves behave differently at home. Her real complaint is that the vast majority of Israelis do not buy into the pluralistic agenda. To them, a synagogue is a traditional one. I know of a secular Jew who occassionally attends bet knesset in Israel. When that person visited a Reform temple in the U.S., their reaction was, "this is not a shul, it's a church."
Yes, we know what Michaeli wants, but there's no doubt it veers charedi. Just see what's happened to the mechitza, for example. There's a reason a lot of Dati Leumi like to use the "Ezrat Yisrael."
In the summer of 1967, in the months after the Six-Day War, the government had to decide if the Kotel was to be considered part of the Education Ministry (as a historical site) or the Religious Ministry. Since people had already "voted with their feet" and were davening there every day, the decision was easy.
ReplyDeleteImagine if the decision had gone the other way...
Until 1948, the Kotel was only a shul on the Yamim Noraim, and even that was relatively recent. It was a holy site, the same as, say, Kever Rachel. (That's why there were many actual shuls in the Old City.) What would have happened if it had been treated otherwise? I don't know, maybe there wouldn't have been a neglect of the Har HaBayit, a neglect that both the secular and religious establishments at the time (and now) was just fine with.
DeleteThe Kotel is treated like a Haredi Shul because the vast majority of people who go to the Kotel are Haredi -
ReplyDeleteIf you want to "liberate" the Kotel, all you need to do is encourage non-Haredim to go to the Kotel regularly. How often does Merav Michaeli visit the Kotel? If she went there daily, or even weekly, together with thousands pf like-minded people, the Kotel would no longer be treated like a Haredi SHul.
While we're on the topic - how come most of bars are treated like non-Haredi hangouts, is it because Haredim don't have an interest in hanging out at non-kosher bars?
The closest neighborhoods to the Kotel are charedi, and charedim have more time on their hands. I live less than a half-hour walk to the Kotel and can only get there occasionally. Merav Michaeli lives in Tel Aviv. I don't know about her, but I'm sure lots of secular Israelis would *like* to go to the Kotel more often. But these places have a way of changing. There's no reason the Hurva should have become a charedi shul, but it did.
Delete"The fact that the vast majority think the Kotel is a Haredi shul - that is a breakdown and we must fix it. One day we will need to liberate the Kotel"
ReplyDeleteThis is a gross misrepresentation. The Kotel is treated as an Orthodox shul. There are plenty of Dati Leumi and traditional Jews who pray there and hold ceremonies there (like Bar Mitzvahs) and no one bats an eyelash. All of these people view a "shul" or "bet knesset" as the traditional, Orthodox one, and they respect it accordingly, even if some of them themselves behave differently at home.
Her real complaint is that the vast majority of Israelis do not buy into the pluralistic agenda. To them, a synagogue is a traditional one. I know of a secular Jew who occassionally attends bet knesset in Israel. When that person visited a Reform temple in the U.S., their reaction was, "this is not a shul, it's a church."
Yes, we know what Michaeli wants, but there's no doubt it veers charedi. Just see what's happened to the mechitza, for example. There's a reason a lot of Dati Leumi like to use the "Ezrat Yisrael."
Delete