Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Kalman Bar on Wednesday night blasted the Supreme Court's intervention in the issue of the Western Wall's status, urging the judges to carefully consider their decisions.
In an interview with Kol Hai Radio, Rabbi Bar stressed that according to established Jewish law, the entire length of the Western Wall is as holy as the Temple Mount.
"The Western Wall is the holiest place for the Jewish people," he said.
He also pointed out that leading rabbis of the previous generation, including Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, and Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, took a clear stance on the matter. "How can such a place be divided?" he asked.
Rabbi Bar clarified that the Chief Rabbinate holds authority over the Western Wall, and the Supreme Court has no authority to rule on the issue.
"This is a place of worship. Is that even imaginable?" he asked. Comparing the situation to changes in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount without the Waqf's approval, he noted that even during the British Mandate, no changes were made to the Western Wall without the Chief Rabbi's consent.
Beyond the matter of authority , Rabbi Bar warned of practical consequences: "It will become a place of protests, fights, and physical altercations. Kaplan protests are once a week - this will be every day."
He also stressed that the Western Wall is a place that unites the entire Jewish people, and anyone who wishes to pray there is welcome to do so in a respectful fashion and according to local customs.
Concluding his statements, Rabbi Bar revealed that he personally went to pray at the Wall about the matter, and called for unity: "We are confident that God will perform miracles for us."