Jerusalem Post
Haredi youth disrupted prayer at the Western Wall’s egalitarian prayer section and tore siddurim published by the Conservative Movement.
Rosh Hodesh prayer services on Thursday again turned violent at the Kotel. In honor of the month of Tamuz, Rosh Hodesh prayers took place at Ezrat Israel, the egalitarian prayer section at the Kotel. A large group of haredi youth arrived there with whistles and used them to disturb the prayer service at the plaza. A few of the demonstrators tore the siddurim published by the Conservative movement, and one teen was photographed blowing his nose on a torn page of a siddur. “Once again, we are witnessing horrific images from the Western Wall,” said Rakefet Ginsberg, director of the Conservative movement in Israel. “Ezrat Israel is intended for egalitarian prayer. It is impossible that worshipers praying there need to feel fear for their own safety.”
