Editing Western Wall (section)

====Egalitarian and non-Orthodox prayer====
[[File:Men's and women's prayer areas at the Western Wall, seen from walkway to the Dome of the Rock.jpg|thumb|right|The separate areas for men (top) and women, seen from the walkway to the Dome of the Rock|alt=Two large groups of people, seen from slightly above them, separated by a white cloth barrier, standing before a beige stone wall whose top cannot be seen, with another wall in the rear. The group in the foreground is all female, the one in the rear is all male, with many wearing white robes or shrouds]]

While during the late 19th century, no formal segregation of men and women was to be found at the Wall,<ref>[http://tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/130878/the-womens-wall The Women's Wall] Tablet Magazine, April 30, 2013</ref> conflict erupted in July 1968 when members of the [[World Union for Progressive Judaism]] were denied the right to host a mixed-gender service at the site after the Ministry of Religious Affairs insisted on maintaining the gender segregation customary at Orthodox places of worship. The progressives responded by claiming that "the Wall is a shrine of all Jews, not one particular branch of Judaism."<ref name= jta/>

In 1988, the small but vocal group called [[Women of the Wall]] launched a campaign for recognition of non-Orthodox prayer at the Wall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://womenofthewall.org.il/about/mission-statement/ |title= Mission Statement |work= Women of the Wall – נשות הכותל |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308072412/http://womenofthewall.org.il/about/mission-statement/ |archive-date= March 8, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://womenofthewall.org.il/about/history/ |title= History |work =Women of the Wall – נשות הכותל |url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308070301/http://womenofthewall.org.il/about/history/ |archive-date= March 8, 2016 |df= mdy-all}}</ref> Their form and manner of prayer elicited a violent response from some Orthodox worshippers and they were subsequently banned from holding services at the site.<ref name= NYT13/> After repeated attacks by [[haredim]], in 1989 the Women of the Wall petitioned to secure the right of women to pray at the wall without restrictions.<ref name= wound>{{cite news |last= Nathan-Kazis |first= Josh |title= Embassy Letter on Kotel Rubs Salt in the Wound |url=http://www.forward.com/articles/124477/ |access-date= July 13, 2010 |newspaper=[[The Jewish Daily Forward]] |date= February 5, 2010 |location= New York, New York}}</ref>

A decade on, some commentators called for the closure of the Wall unless an acceptable solution to the controversy was found.<ref name= Tear>Bleiweiss, Robert. "Tear Down the Western Wall". ''Jewish Spectator'', 1997. p. 3: "There is no quick or easily acceptable way to change this sorry situation, so the blighted thing probably ought to be torn down before its continued presence leads to the irreparable splitting of the Jews and perhaps even civil war and the end of the state of Israel."</ref>

In 2003 [[Israel's Supreme Court]] upheld the ban on non-Orthodox worship at the Wall,<ref name= virtual/>{{better source needed|date=December 2022}} disallowing any women from reading publicly from the Torah or wearing traditional [[tallit|prayer shawls]] at the plaza itself, but instructed the Israeli government to prepare the site of Robinson's Arch to host such events,<ref name= wound/> given that this area does not come under the direct control of the Rabbi of the Wall or the Ministry of Religious Affairs.<ref name= virtual/>{{better source needed|date=December 2022}} The government responded by allocating Robinson's Arch for such purposes.<ref name= wound/>

The Robinson's Arch worship site was inaugurated in August 2004 and has since hosted services by [[Reform Judaism|Reform]] and [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative]] groups, as well as services by the Women of the Wall.<ref name= NYT13/>

In 2012, critics still complained about the restrictions at the Western Wall, saying Israel had "turned a national monument into an ultra-Orthodox synagogue."<ref>{{cite web |author= Rudoren, Jodi |title= Israel to Review Curbs on Women's Prayer at Western Wall |date= December 26, 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/world/middleeast/israeli-law-curbing-womens-prayer-up-for-review.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

In April 2013 things came to a head. In response to the repeated arrest of women, including [[Anat Hoffman]], found flouting the law, the [[Jewish Agency]] observed 'the urgent need to reach a permanent solution and make the Western Wall once again a symbol of unity among the Jewish people, and not one of discord and strife."<ref name= NYT13/> Jewish Agency leader [[Natan Sharansky]] spearheaded a concept that would expand and renovate the Robinson's Arch area into an area where people may "perform worship rituals not based on the Orthodox interpretation of Jewish tradition."<ref name="forward.com">Guttman, Nathan and Jane Eisner. [http://forward.com/articles/174588/kotel-egalitarian-prayer-plan-set-in-motion-by-dra/?p=all "Kotel Egalitarian Prayer Plan Set in Motion by Dramatic Western Wall Compromise."] ''The Jewish Daily Forward''. April 10-12, 2013.</ref> The Jerusalem District Court ruled that as long as there was no other appropriate area for pluralistic prayer, prayer according to non-Orthodox custom should be allowed at the Wall,<ref name="jpost.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Pending-deal-with-Women-of-the-Wall-would-annul-regulations-banning-non-Orthodox-practice-at-Kotel-346510 |title= Pending deal with Women of the Wall would annul regulations banning non-Orthodox practice at Kotel |date=26 March 2014 |newspaper= The Jerusalem Post}}</ref> and a judge ruled that the 2003 Israeli Supreme Court ruling prohibiting women from carrying a Torah or wearing prayer shawls had been misinterpreted and that Women of the Wall prayer gatherings at the Wall should not be deemed as disturbing the public order.<ref name= NYT13/>

[[File:Azarat Yisrael Plaza.jpg|thumb|Ezrat Yisrael Plaza (prayer platform), Robinson's Arch, opened August 2013]]

On August 25, 2013, a new 4,480 square foot prayer platform named "Ezrat Yisrael Plaza" was completed as part of this plan of facilitating non-Orthodox worship, with access to the platform at all hours, even when the rest of the area's archaeological park is closed to visitors.<ref name="platform">Jaffay, Nathan, [http://forward.com/articles/183130/is-western-wall-prayer-platform-step-forward-for-w/?p=all, "Is Western Wall Prayer Platform a Step Forward For Women – or Back?"], ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', August 30, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.</ref><ref name="Separate — but not equal">Pollack, Suzanne, [http://washingtonjewishweek.com/5015/separate-but-not-equal/ ''Separate – but not equal''], ''Washington Jewish Week'', August 28, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.</ref> After some controversy regarding the question of authority over this prayer area, the announcement was made that it would come under the authority of a future government-appointed "pluralist council" that would include non-Orthodox representatives.<ref name="council">[http://forward.com/articles/193988/pluralist-council-will-oversee-robinsons-arch-at-w/ "Pluralist Council Will Oversee Robinson's Arch at Western Wall"], ''Jewish Daily Forward'' (from Jewish Telegraphic Agency press release), published March 6, 2014. Retrieved June 15, 2014.</ref>

In January 2016, the Israeli Cabinet approved a plan to designate a new space at the Kotel that would be available for egalitarian prayer and that would not be controlled by the Rabbinate. Women of the Wall welcomed the decision,<ref name="NYT2016">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/01/world/middleeast/israel-western-wall-prayer.html |title= Israel Approves Prayer Space at Western Wall for Non-Orthodox Jews |date= February 1, 2016 |work= The New York Times}}</ref> although Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar of Jerusalem said creating a mixed-gender prayer section was paramount to destroying the Wall. The Chief Rabbinate said it would create an alternate plan.<ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-rabbi-mixed-gender-plaza-akin-to-razing-western-wall/ Jerusalem chief rabbi: Mixed-gender plaza akin to razing Western Wall] Times of Israel, March 6, 2016</ref> In June 2017, it was announced that the plan approved in January 2016 had been suspended.<ref name="jweekly1">{{cite web |last=Sales |first=Ben |url=http://www.jweekly.com/2017/06/26/suspension-of-western-wall-deal-leaves-jewish-leaders-feeling-betrayed/ |title=Suspension of Western Wall deal leaves Jewish leaders feeling betrayed – J |publisher=Jweekly.com |date=2017-06-26 |access-date=2017-07-21}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://www.jta.org/2017/06/25/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/netanyahu-rescinds-pluralistic-western-wall-agreement |title=Israel freezes Western Wall compromise that was to create egalitarian prayer section &#124; Jewish Telegraphic Agency |publisher=Jta.org |date=2017-06-25 |access-date=2017-07-21}}</ref>