As reported here yesterday, 20-year-old Eliyahu Kleiman was in the middle of blowing the shofar during the silent Amidah prayer, in accordance with Sephardic custom, when several policemen arrived, took his shofar, and began dragging him away. They also "brutally tore off the prayer-shawls of the other worshippers," according to one of the participants in the service, "and started pushing and beating them."
The police response to the events of Rosh HaShanah at the Kotel HaKatan (Small Wall, pictured above) in the Old City of Jerusalem is: They didn't happen.
Jerusalem Police spokesman Shmulik Ben-Ruby told Arutz-7 that the shofar-blower was not in the middle of prayers and "had already blown long enough" when he was ordered to stop. When confronted with the fact that many eye-witnesses say he was clearly in the middle of prayers when he was stopped and dragged away, Ben-Ruby insisted that his version was the correct one - but agreed to "check again."
Eyewitness Account
Yochanan, one of the participants at the prayer service in question, told Arutz-7 this morning what happened:
"We first prayed the Shacharit morning service at the regular Western Wall plaza, but then we went over to the Kotel HaKatan area [to the north of the plaza, alongside the ancient wall]. We blew the first set of 30 shofar-blasts, during which a Border Guard policeman came in but didn't say anything. We then started the silent prayer, and after a while, Eliyahu started blowing the next set of ten. At that point, a policeman came in and started yelling at him; Eliyahu continued blowing, in order to finish the set, and certainly didn't answer him in the middle of prayer. The policeman then called on his radio and said that [Eliyahu] was in the middle of praying and that they would arrest him afterwards - but the order came back to arrest him right then.
"So then the policeman tried to drag him, more policemen came in to help and started dragging him away - the whole time, of course, his feet were together and he didn't move; he fell down, and they dragged him some more. We couldn't do anything because we were in the midst of praying ourselves. They took him out - I understood that they finally let him complete his prayers - and when we got there, we saw him praying, but the police had taken the shofar, which was made in a special way. We tried to get it back, but they pushed and yelled and threatened to arrest us. They took him to the police station near the Western Wall, and we went up the steps to at least get the shofar back. At one point, I heard one burly Yassam [special unit] policeman say, 'OK, now we'll get them,' and they started hitting and pushing us away quite forcefully. At one point he even took out his club, but he didn't have time to use it against us."
This account jibes with other accounts collected by Arutz-7 and being collected by others who were there. Another woman wrote, "The police acted with great violence, without provocation, towards the one who blew the Shofar, the other worshipers, and passers-by who came afterwards."
Police spokesman Ben-Ruby, however, told a different story: "The man was blowing the shofar after the prayers were finished, and then there was a gathering - they were blocking the way - and since he had already been blowing the shofar for a long time, he was told to stop. He didn't stop, and so he was detained and later released."
A-7: "We spoke to an eyewitness who was there and he said that the shofar-blower was in the midst of praying -"
Ben-Ruby: "No, that is definitely not what happened, according to the policemen and officers who were there."
A-7: "- the witnesses say that the policeman even told his commander on the two-way radio that the man was praying, and that he was dragged out with his feet together, and that he was finally allowed to resume praying."
Ben-Ruby: "No, that is not what happened... It's a question of one claim against another claim."
A-7: "Even when there are ten eyewitnesses? I'm referring to the ten who were praying together - not including the two women, as they were in the women's section and only heard what happened, but didn't see - who all agree on what happened. If the police have a different version, is it still just a question of one claim against the other?"
Ben-Ruby: [affirmative but unclear answer]
A-7: "Could you check back with the officer and policemen who were there and tell them that the witnesses have a different version, and we'll check back with you later?"
Ben-Ruby agreed, but as of mid-afternoon, he had not yet checked with them, and asked for more time.
One woman who was there wrote, "The police claim that shofar-blowing during Ramadan would bring about violence - but last year the same group blew the shofar at the same place, and nothing happened, even though it was also Ramadan then." Ben-Ruby did not mention this point.
The Kotel HaKatan
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Rabbi of the Western Wall, told Arutz-7 he hopes this "very grave" incident will finally give the Kotel HaKatan the positive attention it deserves. The area is officially considered a "holy site," yet no governmental body has taken responsibility for it. Prayers are often held there on an informal basis, but participants run the risk, as has occurred in the past, of being harassed by local Arabs.
"The police told me that they are checking into what happened there on Sunday," the rabbi said. "They understand themselves that it should not have happened. But my interest is not to have a policeman fired or something like that. What I would like to gain from this is that the Kotel HaKatan area should be recognized and regulated, and that we will be able to pray there in an organized, recognized fashion. After Yom Kippur [next Monday], the police will come and we will discuss this whole matter. Our goal is not to cause provocations and not to disturb the Arab families that live there, but at the same time, that must not come at the expense of this holy site."
Daniel Luria, of the Ateret Yerushalayim settlement association: "If the Kotel HaKatan is finally regulated as a result of this, it will be great. As of now, it has fallen between the cracks; no one can really speak for it. There are afternoon services there every day, and dancing after the Sabbath afternoon service - but we want to see it become a full-fledged recognized holy site." He said it is possible that a large-scale Sabbath service would be arranged there this very week.
Mrs. Bracha Slae, a long-time resident of the Old City's Jewish Quarter, said, "The Kotel HaKatan simply has no father. No one is in charge. If we wanted to bring a Torah scroll, it would be gone in ten minutes. Rabbi Rabinovitch told us a couple of years ago that though he is the 'Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites,' he has authority only over the Western Wall Plaza, and not the area to the south or to the north of it... We have even looked in Jewish National Fund records to see the history of this spot, but no one seems to know."
If Mrs. Slae, Rabbi Rabinovitch, Daniel Luria and others have their way, the Kotel HaKatan may soon lose its anonymity and become a recognized and well-frequented holy site. It can be accessed by walking north from the Western Wall towards Damascus Gate, and turning right - towards the Temple Mount - at Iron Gate Rd.
The police response to the events of Rosh HaShanah at the Kotel HaKatan (Small Wall, pictured above) in the Old City of Jerusalem is: They didn't happen.
Jerusalem Police spokesman Shmulik Ben-Ruby told Arutz-7 that the shofar-blower was not in the middle of prayers and "had already blown long enough" when he was ordered to stop. When confronted with the fact that many eye-witnesses say he was clearly in the middle of prayers when he was stopped and dragged away, Ben-Ruby insisted that his version was the correct one - but agreed to "check again."
Eyewitness Account
Yochanan, one of the participants at the prayer service in question, told Arutz-7 this morning what happened:
"We first prayed the Shacharit morning service at the regular Western Wall plaza, but then we went over to the Kotel HaKatan area [to the north of the plaza, alongside the ancient wall]. We blew the first set of 30 shofar-blasts, during which a Border Guard policeman came in but didn't say anything. We then started the silent prayer, and after a while, Eliyahu started blowing the next set of ten. At that point, a policeman came in and started yelling at him; Eliyahu continued blowing, in order to finish the set, and certainly didn't answer him in the middle of prayer. The policeman then called on his radio and said that [Eliyahu] was in the middle of praying and that they would arrest him afterwards - but the order came back to arrest him right then.
"So then the policeman tried to drag him, more policemen came in to help and started dragging him away - the whole time, of course, his feet were together and he didn't move; he fell down, and they dragged him some more. We couldn't do anything because we were in the midst of praying ourselves. They took him out - I understood that they finally let him complete his prayers - and when we got there, we saw him praying, but the police had taken the shofar, which was made in a special way. We tried to get it back, but they pushed and yelled and threatened to arrest us. They took him to the police station near the Western Wall, and we went up the steps to at least get the shofar back. At one point, I heard one burly Yassam [special unit] policeman say, 'OK, now we'll get them,' and they started hitting and pushing us away quite forcefully. At one point he even took out his club, but he didn't have time to use it against us."
This account jibes with other accounts collected by Arutz-7 and being collected by others who were there. Another woman wrote, "The police acted with great violence, without provocation, towards the one who blew the Shofar, the other worshipers, and passers-by who came afterwards."
Police spokesman Ben-Ruby, however, told a different story: "The man was blowing the shofar after the prayers were finished, and then there was a gathering - they were blocking the way - and since he had already been blowing the shofar for a long time, he was told to stop. He didn't stop, and so he was detained and later released."
A-7: "We spoke to an eyewitness who was there and he said that the shofar-blower was in the midst of praying -"
Ben-Ruby: "No, that is definitely not what happened, according to the policemen and officers who were there."
A-7: "- the witnesses say that the policeman even told his commander on the two-way radio that the man was praying, and that he was dragged out with his feet together, and that he was finally allowed to resume praying."
Ben-Ruby: "No, that is not what happened... It's a question of one claim against another claim."
A-7: "Even when there are ten eyewitnesses? I'm referring to the ten who were praying together - not including the two women, as they were in the women's section and only heard what happened, but didn't see - who all agree on what happened. If the police have a different version, is it still just a question of one claim against the other?"
Ben-Ruby: [affirmative but unclear answer]
A-7: "Could you check back with the officer and policemen who were there and tell them that the witnesses have a different version, and we'll check back with you later?"
Ben-Ruby agreed, but as of mid-afternoon, he had not yet checked with them, and asked for more time.
One woman who was there wrote, "The police claim that shofar-blowing during Ramadan would bring about violence - but last year the same group blew the shofar at the same place, and nothing happened, even though it was also Ramadan then." Ben-Ruby did not mention this point.
The Kotel HaKatan
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch, the Rabbi of the Western Wall, told Arutz-7 he hopes this "very grave" incident will finally give the Kotel HaKatan the positive attention it deserves. The area is officially considered a "holy site," yet no governmental body has taken responsibility for it. Prayers are often held there on an informal basis, but participants run the risk, as has occurred in the past, of being harassed by local Arabs.
"The police told me that they are checking into what happened there on Sunday," the rabbi said. "They understand themselves that it should not have happened. But my interest is not to have a policeman fired or something like that. What I would like to gain from this is that the Kotel HaKatan area should be recognized and regulated, and that we will be able to pray there in an organized, recognized fashion. After Yom Kippur [next Monday], the police will come and we will discuss this whole matter. Our goal is not to cause provocations and not to disturb the Arab families that live there, but at the same time, that must not come at the expense of this holy site."
Daniel Luria, of the Ateret Yerushalayim settlement association: "If the Kotel HaKatan is finally regulated as a result of this, it will be great. As of now, it has fallen between the cracks; no one can really speak for it. There are afternoon services there every day, and dancing after the Sabbath afternoon service - but we want to see it become a full-fledged recognized holy site." He said it is possible that a large-scale Sabbath service would be arranged there this very week.
Mrs. Bracha Slae, a long-time resident of the Old City's Jewish Quarter, said, "The Kotel HaKatan simply has no father. No one is in charge. If we wanted to bring a Torah scroll, it would be gone in ten minutes. Rabbi Rabinovitch told us a couple of years ago that though he is the 'Rabbi of the Western Wall and the Holy Sites,' he has authority only over the Western Wall Plaza, and not the area to the south or to the north of it... We have even looked in Jewish National Fund records to see the history of this spot, but no one seems to know."
If Mrs. Slae, Rabbi Rabinovitch, Daniel Luria and others have their way, the Kotel HaKatan may soon lose its anonymity and become a recognized and well-frequented holy site. It can be accessed by walking north from the Western Wall towards Damascus Gate, and turning right - towards the Temple Mount - at Iron Gate Rd.