Women of the Wall – Seeking not only Religious Pluralism, but also Egalitarianism in Israel

Western Wall in Jerusalem - divided areas for men and women

Achieving religious pluralism in Israel, where equal rights and recognition is granted to all forms of Judaism, is a becoming a goal for more and more Israelis who are seeking non-Orthodox, spiritual alternatives to secularism (Rosenthal, 241). Adding on an additional goal of struggling for religious equality for women, is the purpose of an organization called The Women of the Wall.  On their website, Women of the Wall state that their central mission is to achieve the social and legal recognition of their right, as women, to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah collectively and out loud at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. They work to further their mission through social advocacy, education and empowerment. The majority of Jews living outside of Israel embrace the egalitarian ideals of Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Renewal Judaism, and encourage women to participate fully in all prayer and ritual activities. Orthodox Judaism does not. One of Judaism’s most holy sites for prayer, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, has become a battleground for determined, observant Jewish women who seek the freedom to worship as they please.

Nofrat Frenkel arrested for carrying Torah

Women of the Wall gained global publicity when an Israeli nurse, Nofrat Frenkel was arrested last year after attempting to bring out a Torah in the main women’s section at the Western Wall, which is against the law. The Western Wall, which Israel gained back from Jordan after the Six Day War, was a symbol of Jewish survival and pride for all Jews. Today, it is often a site of controversy. “Israelis have given up on the Wall,” said Anat Hoffman, who serves as chairwoman of Women of the Wall. She was also arrested at a Woman of the Wall event six months ago. “They feel uncomfortable there... People have made them feel as if they’re not coming home, but trampling on someone else’s place.” Hoffman is also the executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center which is the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel founded with the goals of advancing pluralism in Israeli society and defending the freedoms of conscience, faith, and religion. Both the Women of the Wall and the Israel Religious Action Center are activist movements and advocacy groups so they both present their cases from a very biased point of view. They bring attention to their causes with demonstrations and protests aimed at bringing nationwide and worldwide attention to themselves.



Women wearing prayer shawls

 In support of Women of the Wall, Los Angeles Jewish Renewal Rabbi Pamela Frydman, organized a letter writing campaign asking Jerusalem police to protect women at the Western Wall who want to pray and read Torah together. She stated that “It is extremely important to us that there always be a place for Haredi men and women in a way that is comfortable for them and in accordance with their understanding of Halacha, but it is equally important for us that those of us who are Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Renewal that we have a place where we can pray in accordance with our understanding.” This statement is made in a way that is much less confrontational an antagonistic towards the Haredi leaders in Israel than we see made by the Israeli Reform Rabbi Azari or WOW leader Anat Hoffman. This is probably due to the fact that Rabbi Frydman lives in Los Angeles and not in Israel, so she is less affected by the daily struggles and outrages experienced by women like Hoffman. She has most probably never experienced having soiled diapers and water bags thrown at her while she is being cursed and called names by Haredim who are opposed to her actions.
If the extent of the Orthodox rabbinate’s control over the lives of Israelis was reduced, there would be a much better chance that women would be allowed to worship along with men at the Wall in Jerusalem, but until that day, the ultra-Orthodox see the actions and demands of the Conservative and Reform Jews as “far more dangerous” than non-observant secular Jews (Rosenthal, 242). Donna Rosenthal quotes Israeli Reform Rabbi Meir Azari’s comments about the ultra-Orthodox control of Jewish law in Israel; “In their eyes, only Orthodox Judaism is kosher, they believe that recognizing us would undermine their monopoly as the Judaism of Israel. Israel is the only democracy in the Western world to deny religious freedom to Jews. What we’re fighting for is the right for Israelis to have the freedom to choose how they want to be Jewish.”(Rosenthal, 242). The animosity between the various religious groups in Israel is a very difficult issue.

Ethiopian Israelis

Gathering of Ethiopian immigrants in Israel

One of the most difficult challenges facing the Ethiopian Jews who have immigrated to Israel is the huge disparity between the agrarian and very traditional way of life they left behind in Ethiopia and the realities of an industrial, western and modern country like Israel. Donna Rosenthal describes the cultural differences they faced; from the shock of being introduced to electricity, TV, running water, disposable diapers to  the attitudes and cultural norms that are so different in Israel.

The first few Ethiopian Jews began trickling into Israel in the 1950’s and later the mid 70’s. By the mid 80’s, because of severe famine and political turmoil in Ethiopia, thousands of Ethiopian refugees, among them approximately 12,000  Ethiopian Jews, escaped from Ethiopia to Sudan, trekking over very difficult terrain, facing bandits, starvation, exhaustion and disease. Nearly five thousand Ethiopian Jews died in that trek and today there is a large granite memorial in Israel, in memory of those lost. Those who survived the trek lived in Sudanese refugee camps for months, suffering beatings, rape and disease. In 1984-85, nearly eight thousand Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in a series of secret airlifts called Operation Moses. When news of the airlifts leaked to the public, the Sudanese government halted the rescue operation, stranding many thousands. Later, in 1991, during another secret rescue operation called Operation Solomon, in the course of thirty six hours, Israel smuggled 14,324 Ethiopian Jews aboard thirty three jets in history’s largest and human airlift. The new immigrants were housed in absorption centers and temporary housing and are one of the immigrant groups facing the most challenges and difficulties in adjusting to life in Israel.  

In my research, I discovered the website of an organization in Israel called the IAEJ - Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews, www.iaej.co.il, which serves as an advocacy organization for Ethiopian Israelis, who are often uninformed about the means for receiving their rights with regards to education, health care, fair employment practices, and who face a myriad of obstacles hindering their successful absorption into Israeli society. They explain that over 75% of the 116,000 Ethiopian Jews now living in Israel left rural, agrarian environments and entered an urban, industrialized one, possessing few skills marketable in a modern industrialized economy. This has resulted in severe inequalities between Ethiopian citizens and other citizens of Israel. The organization exists to help teach Ethiopian Jews how to assert their rights, so they can become effective partners in their successful integration in Israel. This is an advocacy organization that takes no government funding and relies on volunteers. It has had a positive effect in organizing community educational meetings and bringing the needs and concerns of the Ethiopian Israelis to the attention of the general population and government. They are a reliable source of information.

Sig'd celebrated in Jerusalem

I was also fascinated by some of the blog posts of a young American woman, by the name of Becky Kupchan, who has been volunteering as an intern at the IAEJ since September ‘09. She started a blog called "How do you say "blog" in Amharic??" in which she describes her impressions of the children and adults she meets in the absorption centers and towns and the accomplishments and challenges of the IAEJ. Most notably, in one of her blogs  she describes a special Jewish Ethiopian holiday called Sig’d which was celebrated at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem this year. This was especially remarkable because it was the first year Ethiopians celebrated the holiday in Israel on such an official level since it was legislated a national holiday in the Knesset in 2008, thanks to the lobbying efforts of the IAEJ. Becky Kupchan is a white, American, Jewish, college graduate whose voice in her blogs reflects the unfamiliar but engaging reality she is experiencing first-hand while she volunteers for the IAEJ. Her accounts are reliable, but she may not know all the information such as the fact that government resources allocated to Ethiopian immigrants is roughly four times as much as any other immigrant population, as mentioned in the Donna Rosenthal book.  



Ethiopian Israeli parent discuss "at risk" teens

As new generations of Ethiopian Jews are born in Israel, they are adapting and embracing the modern Israeli ways and attitudes. Over half of the Ethiopian population in Israel today is under the age of 19, and even though there is a definite problem with Ethiopian “at-risk” youth, many of them go to school and succeed and go to the army and excel.  They adopt the norms and behaviors of the native born Israelis, but unfortunately many problems still exist today for the older generation and newer immigrants who are facing challenges they find difficult to overcome.