Few happy with decision to allow mixed-gender prayer at Western Wall

Much to the consternation of ultra-Orthodox Jews and the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli Cabinet on Jan. 31 approved the creation of a mixed-gender prayer section at Jerusalem’s Western Wall. The change accommodates prayer and the celebration of Jewish ceremonies by non-Orthodox Jews. Reform and conservative branches of Judaism hailed the decision.

Susan Perlman of Jews for Jesus said neither side is completely satisfied with the decision, which may prove the measure is reasonable. Ultra-Orthodox Jews control the existing sex-segregated sections and previously blocked any measure to accommodate the practices of more liberal branches of Judaism. Perlman said the addition of a prayer section that recognizes members of other Jewish traditions “is a good thing. No one has a corner on prayer.”

The Western Wall is a remnant of the 2,000-year-old expansion of the Temple mount complex and one of Judaism’s holiest sites. The wall is adjacent to a Muslim holy site, the al-Aksa Mosque. Palestinian official Yusef Edais called the decision “additional evidence of the Israeli aggression against Muslim holy places, in an attempt to Judaize Jerusalem,” according to The Jerusalem Post.

Orthodox Jewish law requires men and women pray and worship separately. The strictest male observers cannot touch a woman who is not his wife without being declared unclean. Perlman, raised in the United States in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish home, recalled sitting behind a curtain in the balcony of the synagogue with all the other women while the men sat on the first floor closest to the cabinet housing Torah scrolls. When she confessed her faith in Christ as Messiah, Perlman understood the admonition of Isaiah 56:7 that the Lord’s “house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

Conservative and Reformed branches of Judaism allow women to become rabbis and do not segregate their congregations. Religious authorities in Israel have not recognized the ceremonies performed by their members, many of whom live in the United States.

“They don’t have equal standing,” Perlman said. “They feel like second class citizens,” as do Messianic Jews.

The $9 million, 900-square-meter prayer space will have “Torah scrolls and other ritual objects and will open to all forms of Jewish prayer,” according to The Jerusalem Post. Dismissing the politically charged rhetoric surrounding the Cabinet’s decision, Perlman suggested a simple yet significant use for the new prayer section: “Maybe husbands and wives will want to come pray together.”