A bill put forward Thursday by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party seeks to penalize all types of Jewish prayer at the Western Wall besides strict ultra-Orthodox custom.
If the proposal, being promoted by Shas party leader Aryeh Deri, passes it would make it a criminal offense to dress immodestly and play music at the location. The vote on the bill to be held next week.
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Aryeh Deri, the Western Wall, Benjamin Netayahu
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch, EPA, Alex Kolomoisky)
One of Judaism's holiest sites, the Western Wall has been in recent years the site of bitter contention between Israel's ultra-Orthodox religious establishment and more liberal streams of Judaism, including the feminists of the Women of the Wall (WOW) movement.
The proposed bill stipulates fines to the tune of NIS 10,000 or six-month prison sentences for violating the status quo custom codified by the Chief Rabbinate Council and the Rabbi of the Western Wall, which includes a strict dress code for women.
According to the proposal, some actions would be prohibited in the Western Wall among them holding any religious ceremony that is not in accordance with local customs and could offend those praying in the complex.
According to the proposal, wearing an immodest attire, providing religious services of any kind without proper authorization, playing musical instruments, listening to music, and singing without permission, and mixed prayers - will all be punishable by law.
It will also bar certain ceremonies inside of the women’s court of the Western Wall, among them ceremonies that include carrying or reading from the Torah, blowing a shofar, wearing a Tallit, or putting on Tefillin.
The proposal comes following an appeal to the Supreme Court by "Women of the Wall," who seek religious freedom in the Western Wall. The appeal will be discussed at the end of February, seeking to implement the 2017 Western Wall plan, to designate a central mixed prayer area for women and men in the complex.
Members of the Shas party defended the proposed law. MK Uriel Busso, who drafted the bill alongside Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli, said, “Would anyone think about entering a mosque dressed inappropriately? Everyone understands the sanctity of the Western Wall - we need a law that regulates this issue."
He added: “Unfortunately, the Western Wall in recent years has become a site of conflict and protests, led by an extremist and radical group whose sole purpose is to defile the Western Wall and hurt the feelings of a majority of the Jewish people."
National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz criticized the proposal on Twitter. “No Jewish person has ownership over the holiest place of the Jewish people. The Western Wall belongs to all, religious and secular, right and left, and it is up to us to keep it as a place of unity for all people.
“I call on Netanyahu to keep politics out of our holiest place, don't place a divide between the Western Wall and the Jewish people," he added.
The law was also criticized by members of the coalition. Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar wrote on Twitter that the Western Wall “belongs to all of the people of Israel and is sacred to all Jews, there is no need for laws to preserve its sanctity. Maintaining the status quo is critical to preserving our unity.”
i24NEWS contributed to this report