SPECIAL COMMENTARY
Tradition Should Rule At Wall
s
the "Women of the Wall" — filed suit
New York
to allow it to conduct its own public
ince its liberation from Jordan
prayer session at the Kotel, in pointed
in 1967, Jerusalem's Kotel
contrast to how women have prayed
Ma'aravi, or "Western Wall,"
there for thousands of years. Recently,
has been a spiritual magnet for
Israel's High Court of Justice ruled
Jews of all denominations and beliefs.
that the government must accommo-
While no one monitors what prayer
date that group.
books visitors use at the site or if
Critics of the nontradi-
head-coverings are worn, the
tional prayer groups point
essential layout of the prayer
out that the vast majority of
area there reflects the
the Wall's regular visitors are
requirements of Halacha, or
ardently Orthodox Jews.
Jewish religious law, for a
And
that whatever one may
synagogue: men on one side
personally
think of mixed-
of a partition, women on the
gender services and chanting
other; and women do not
women, such things offend
pray loudly enough for the
the Orthodox. Sensitive folk
men to hear them. Public
of good will, after all, would
services at the holy site have
RABBI AVI
never think of entering a
likewise been conducted in
S HAF RAN
mosque with shoes on — or
accordance with classical
Special to
a closed space with a lit ciga-
Jewish tradition. It is a his-
the
Jewish
News
rette.
toric site — the remnant of
They note, too, that there
the courtyard wall of the
is no limit to what could
Second Holy Temple — and
legitimately be demanded, were Jewish
conduct there has accordingly reflect-
tradition jettisoned as the public norm
ed that fact.
at the Kotel. Would not "Messianic
Over past years, though, "egalitari-
Jews"
assert a right to mount crosses
an" prayer gatherings at the Kotel have
for
their
services at the Wall? Might
been organized by non-Orthodox Jew-
Jews wish to burn
not
anti-Zionist
ish activists, predictably provoking
Israeli flags there?
hurt and anger (even, inexcusably,
Proponents of the non-traditional
some violence) among the thousands
groups essentially say, "Let a thou-
of traditional Jews present on the
sand flowers bloom." The Kotel,
occasions. And a group of women —
they maintain, belongs to all Jews.
Some have even proposed assigning
Rabbi Avi Shafran is director of ublic
separate parts of the Wall to differ-
affairs for Agudath Israel of America
ent Jewish groups.
and American director of Am Echad.
.
measure earlier this year.
However, the circumstances have
since changed. On April 13, a false
trial of these individuals began, closed
off from any international observa-
tion. In order to work effectively for
the release of these individuals, my •
colleagues and I developed House
Concurrent Resolution 307. This was
introduced the day of the trial. This
resolution puts pressure on the Iranian
hardliners to ensure that their treat-
ment of this case will be a benchmark
for future relations between the Unit-
ed States and Iran.
I am pleased that more than 500 of
my constituents have shown their sup-
port by signing petitions in the last
month calling for the release of the
Iranian Jews.
Until we are successful in obtaining
their release, I thank your readers for
their support. I urge them to continue
their advocacy for justice and toler-
ance in Iran.
U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg
R-Bloomfield Hills
After Lebanon,
What Next?
Now that Israel has taken the coura-
geous and laudable step of withdraw-
ing its forces from southern Lebanon,
what comes next ("Out Of
Lebanon," May 26)? Will residents of
northern Israeli towns and villages
finally feel secure from attack and
sleep in their beds, or will they feel
insecure and once again sleep in
bomb shelters?
Only time will tell the true inten-
tions of Hezbollah and its allies, but
That, at least to
this Jew, would be a
true Jewish tragedy
in the making.
Because for more
than three decades,
the Kotel has been a
place — perhaps
the only one in the
world — where
Jews of all affilia-
tions and persua-
sions have regularly
prayed side by side.
That has been pos-
sible because of the
good will of non-
Orthodox Jews —
Israelis and West-
erners alike — who
though they may
opt for very differ-
ent services in their
own homes, syna-
gogues or temples,
have accepted the
"highest common
denominator" of
Jewish tradition for Women of the Wall won a favorable ruling from Israel's
the most Jewishly
High Court of Justice in its pursuit of praying together, in
historic spot on
tallit and with the Torah, at the Western Wall. This photo
earth.
reflects women in prayer in the Archaeological Gar
Imagine, though, adjacent to the Wall.
a "balkanized" Kotel,
sad disharmony.
Orthodox Jews here,
Could any truly caring Jew — of
Reform there, Conservative in the cor-
whatever prefix — really want to ham-
ner and a special women's group read-
mer that horrid, heavy nail into the
ing the Torah at the far end — a sad,
coffin of Jewish unity? ❑
real-time symbol of the state of our
the international community need not
sit idly by and watch from the side-
lines. The international community
should hold both Lebanon and Syria
accountable for any attacks against
Israeli targets and recognize Israel's
right to retaliate.
Lebanon is in effect a Syrian
colony. Little happens in the country
without a nod from Damascus.
Indeed, isn't it long overdue for the
withdrawal of the 35;000 Syrian
troops from Lebanon, whose only pur-
pose in being there is to exert control
over the country? Doesn't Lebanon
deserve full independence?
Over the late two decades, the
world devoted a great deal of time and
energy to questioning Israel's need for
a defensive presence in southern
Lebanon, but very little to questioning
Syria's hegemonic aims throughout
Lebanon. A closer look at the Syrian
role is long overdue.
Finally, the United Nations must
also act as a true force for peace. The
United Nations and the rest of the
world cannot stand idly by if Hezbol-
lah attacks Lebanese citizens who do
not support it.
Frederick J. Frank
president,
American Jewish Committee/Detroit
Chapter
Bloomfield Township
What Price
For Peace?
Where is the moral outrage about
Israel's betrayal of its allies in southern
Lebanon who are abandoned to the
tender mercies of Hafez al-Assad and
SN
6/2
2000
27