Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the rabbinical authority in charge of the Kotel (Western Wall), made public a new procedure Thursday regarding bringing Torah scrolls into the Kotel.

Under the new guidelines, individuals who wish to bring in a Torah scroll to the Kotel will require a permit from the Kotel Rabbi. The guidelines were put in place due to concerns over thefts of Torah scrolls, as well to try to prevent attempts by individuals or groups to bring in Torah scrolls for the purposes of conducting prayer services that are not in conjunction with local customs.