Activists from the Women of the Wall group arrived Tuesday morning, on the first day of the month of Tamuz, at the Western Wall Plaza for a demonstration against the government, contrary to the regulations of the holy sites.
MK Gilad Kariv (Labor) joined the group and entered again with a Torah scroll, contrary to regulations and instructions of the Ministry of Justice, causing a major uproar at the Western Wall Plaza..
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation – the organization charged with administering the Western Wall Plaza – condemned the protest and the use of a Torah scroll for a political demonstration, which touched on the judicial reform plan.
“The demonstration was prominent and declarative, with signs and a Torah scroll that was desecrated and used as a means of protest for all intents and purposes, with opposition to judicial reform added to the demonstration,” the Foundation said in a statement.
“The Western Wall Heritage Foundation seeks to keep disputes away from the Western Wall and preserve it as a holy and unifying place.”
The Women of the Wall encountered opposition from Orthodox groups, and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation worked to separate the groups and allow prayer to continue for the hundreds of worshippers who came to recite the Rosh Chodesh prayers and families who came to celebrate their children's bar mitzvahs, some of whom were affected by the demonstration.