Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef
Rabbi Yitzchak YosefKobi Richter/TPS

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef published a letter calling for strict separation between men and women in the prayer halls in the Cave of the Patriarchs.

The letter, signed by rabbis Dov Lior, Avigdor Nebenzahl, and Shmuel Rabinowitz, says: "I issue this holy call to preserve complete separation in the prayer halls in the tombs of the Patriarchs in the Cave of the Patriarchs."

In his letter, Rabbi Yosef details the halachic obligation to allocate a women's section in places of worship and concludes that "all concerned must be strengthened to ensure separation between men and women, and by virtue of keeping sanctity and purity in this lofty place, all prayers will be accepted willingly and G-d will grant blessing."

Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl continued and wrote that "separation in the holy places has an element of what was done in the Temple."