Israel’s ultra-Orthodox protest women’s prayer at holy site

By SHLOMO MOR
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews have gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to protest against a Jewish women’s group that holds monthly prayers there in a long-running campaign for gender equality at the site. For decades the “Women of the Wall” group has campaigned for equality of worship at the wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites. The dispute has sharpened since the swearing-in of a new government in June pushed Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties into the opposition. A newly elected lawmaker who is also a Reform rabbi has used his parliamentary immunity to bring Torah scrolls into the women’s section in defiance of the ultra-Orthodox administrators of the site.