I've never been to the Western Wall.
That might not seem particularly strange to most people, as I'm sure most people probably don't know what it is, much less actually been to it. (For those who don't know, it is a supporting wall left over from what was the Second Temple, in Jerusalem.) What's strange about the fact that I've never been to the Western Wall is that I'm Jewish, and I lived in Israel for a year, not a 15 minute walk away from the single holiest place in the Jewish religion.
Now, I should clarify that I HAVE been to the Western Wall plaza dozens of times. There are few more inspiring sites than the Western Wall and the surrounding plaza -- including the Temple Mount -- in the entire world. Day or night, the view never fails to touch your soul with its sense of history, of spirituality. And that goes for Jew and non-Jew alike; the very ground itself marks the holy intersection of three great world religions, and in that space lie the seeds of hope and promise, as well as enmity and hatred.
Americans -- and American Jews -- have a complex relationship with Israel, a complexity that has bled into the American political process. Despite the mandatory Republican primary election "I'm stronger on Israel" declarations, with one candidate after the other trying to one up his rivals (soon to be followed by the general election declarations of "...and Democrats/liberals/Obama are bad on Israel"), Americans -- and American Jews -- are fiercely supportive and proud of the state of Israel, despite our ideological disagreements. In fact, the vast majority of all Americans believe in the existential right of Israel to exist. But "which" Israel do Americans support?
Which brings me back to the Western Wall. I've never touched the Wall for a very simple reason: women by law are segregated from men, and cannot pray as I do -- as a man -- in that space. If the American government should strive as a foreign policy goal to protect the country of Israel from enemies such as Iran and Syria (as I believe it should), Americans (and American Jews in particular) should fight to protect the people of Israel. And American Jews can't allow the foreign policy political debate that serves to define and separate the "pro-Israel" crowd from the "not pro-Israel enough" crowd to prevent us from agreeing on something on which we all should agree: all women must be treated equally under the law. That's democracy. We aren't talking about Saudi Arabia here. And the same people who crow about Israel being the only democracy in the Middle East as a reason for adopting hyper-hawkish positions on Israel should be the same people who are leading the charge to defend women in Israel from being treated as second class citizens.
That, sadly, isn't the case. When an American Jew has the temerity to call out Israel for this, or this, or this, the knee-jerk response from the right (call them the Israel First crowd if you must) is to accuse the claimant of being anti-Israel. But for me, these incidents aren't as insidious or fundamentally troubling as the battle that is being fought by people like Anat Hoffman, of the Israel Religious Action Center and founder of Women of the Wall. Her crusade -- well-off the radar of American mainstream press -- is to allow women the right to carry Torah, to pray as equals. And while it may not be as sexy or newsworthy as some of the previous incidents I highlighted (an incredibly small sampling, sadly), it is no less-important, fundamentally so, in fact, to the claim of Israel as "the only Democracy in the Middle East."
As a progressive Jew, it never fails to baffle, embarrass, and pain me when women cannot participate as equal members of my faith. Where women face systemic inequality, societal good must surely suffer for it.
So the next time I hear a Republican candidate claim to be a bona fide supporter of Israel, who will be "Israel's best friend in the White House," I will question him or her, time and again, about their stance on women's equality in that great democracy of the Middle East -- not because I am anti-Israel, but because I love Israel, and one day-dream of finally making my way down to the Western Wall, to put my hands upon the 2000 year-old Jerusalem stone, while standing next to my wife.
Follow Jason Boxt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/jboxt1
Woman Arrested For Carrying Torah Near Western Wall
Police arrest woman for wearing prayer shawl at Western Wall ...
That said, I couldn't help but notice the angry, derisive, and in some cases outright hostile tone of many of the self-defined Orthodox in "defense" of the status quo. I use the word defense due to their response(s), though I in no way saw your article as one of attack on your religion.
Of course such people and attitudes exist in all religions. I find that incredibly sad.
Shalom.
No bikinis for you!
Are you denying there are segregated beaches in israel, or are you justifying them. Which is it?
BIG DEAL!
Let's consider some aspects of women in Israel.
1. One elected woman leader
(Tally for USA, France, Canada, Sweden, Russia, China, Arab counties, etc: zero)
2. Percentage of women on corporate boards:
Israel 15%, rank: 6th in the world.
UK 12.5%, Spain 9.3%, Belgium 7.7%, Brazil 5.1%, Italy 3.7%, Japan 0.9%,
Saudi Arabia 0.1%
Source http://www.catalyst.org/publication/433/women-on-boards Dec. 2011
3. Percentage of specialist doctors in Israel that are women: over 50%,
overall percentage of all doctors in Israel: 35%
Percentage of doctors in the USA that are women: 30%
4.Life expectancy for women:
Israel 84.0 years, international ranking: 4th
Germany 82.1 years, international ranking: 20th
USA 80.6 years, international ranking: 36th
Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy
Perhaps the men should complain that they can't go to the womens side? lol
It's a place for personal prayers not a family gathering place.
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In an October 2010 sermon, Yosef stated that "The sole purpose of non-Jews is to serve Jews".
Shas is currently Israel's fourth largest party in the Knesset, and, according to The Jewish Daily Forward, “the unchalleng Âed kingmaker of Israeli politicsâ€
Women are allowed to pray, they are allowed to carry and read from the Torah - in the women's section. The fact that women and men do not get to pray together doesn't make women any less important - it just follows traditional Judaic law.
As to your comment that "As a progressive Jew, it never fails to baffle, embarrass, and pain me when women cannot participate as equal members of my faith" You ignore the truth of Reform, Reconstructionist and the Conservative movement who are all based on a more progressive position.
What I think your comment should have read is that 'as a progressive Jew, traditional Orthodox Jews embarrass and baffle me' Many orthodox women do not share you belief that they are any less important in Judaism than men.
Why is it that your position of men and women praying together should be more important than thousands of years of tradition?
As to the question of support for Israel - do you really believe the rights of women in Israel is as pressing as the rights in some countries where a woman can still be stoned to death for adultery?
- One: is your ability to have a women's prayer group - which I was under the impression the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on - in your favor.
Two: The right to pray together with men?
These are two very very very different issues.
But on the other hand, you are speaking of a 4000+ year religion being practiced on its ancestral land all the while being done in modern times. For some, it's a matter of adjusting an ancient tradition into their busy and modern lives and for others, there is a sense of being "home again" and feeling the need to maintain the old ways that in all fairness, survived over the millenia against all odds, and that's an understatement.
I think what would be ideal is to have a men's section, a women's section and a unisex section, all of which are equal in size and space so as to accommodate everyone. That way the author can visit the wall next to his wife, which as far as I know, there is already a small space where the genders can mix but I'm not certain, the Orthodox can maintain the ancient tradition, and no one can complain.
It's amazing and miraculous that the Jewish people have survived and maintained our traditions all this time and that Israel is home again BUT for many of us, we like a mix of ancient traditions and modern ways and I think it's only fair to accommodate all sides of the Jewish coin, so to speak.
Tried segregation that but women are still attacked by the haredim: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3863585,00.html
So is sharia law... what's the difference?
There are Judaic tomes full of rabbinic discussion, question and answer, and commentary directly related to man/woman and their relative places in the universe. Time and space restricts my ability to fully enunciate the finer points of this most intriguing and to this day, vexing issue, even to the most egalitarian among us. The nuclear family/home is paramount in Judaism and within that structure men and women, traditionally have assumed roles to contribute to that nucleus. As men are tasked to protect/provide for the family an equal imperative is for a woman to make a “Jewish Homeâ€. Neither role is subordinate to the other; in fact it could be argued that the role of the woman is held in greater esteem. Women, in Judaic philosophy, are considered spiritually far superior to men and as such have no responsibility to attend services or go to synagogue. As such, to the uninitiated, the optics of gender separation is offensive when in reality it is more a product of the clumsy manner in which modern Judaism is trying to cope with women’s redefined roles.
We can go on and on, pointing fingers. In religious issues tradition often has a lagtime with respect to society. It is not only a Jewish phenomenon. And that is where the difference lies. It is a matter of religious tradition, and maintaining it is one of a variety of measures necessary, at this time, to some extent, to maintain the peace between some groups of persons.
On the other hand, there are female rabbis. And there are all sorts of movements within judaism, which include women. That separate from those traditionalists who are not orthodox, and others who are working at makaing changes, and already achieving it. That is much more progressive than, say, other religions allow. And, again, the author confuses religious practice with government.
Great analysis, but while on topic, don't forget the non-Jewish citizens of Israel
[Rosin the Bow 2 hours ago].
"No one who defends Israel defends the inequalitiÂes present in its society."
[Rosin the Brow 5 minutes later]
Thanks for playing.
There are 24 women members of Israel's Knesset, out of 120 - 20%
There are 78 women representaÂtives in Congress, out of 541 – only 14%
This is a bit misleading, since women CAN and DO pray at, and can touch, the Western Wall.
See the photo here for example: http://faculty.ithaca.edu/rlesses/gallery/1164/?image_id=10527
Jewish orthodox tradition is that men and women should pray separately. I think this is a dated concept, but it’s not really a big deal. Most Israelis are secular anyway.
Mr Boxt complains that he can't pray at the Western Wall whilst holding hands with his wife.
But it is surely a stretch too far to then assert that in Israel "women face systemic inequality" ?
Israel has had a woman prime minister, and the current leader of the main opposition party is Tzipi Livni, a woman. Israeli women have the vote, run major companies, are prominent journalists, etc, etc.
There are 20 women members of Israel's Knesset, out of 120 - 20%
There are 78 women representatives in Congress, out of 541 – only 14%
And there has never been a woman US president, or even vice-president.
By this measure, "systemic inequality" against women is worse in the USA.
Oh and where in the US would this happen I wonder:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/video-ultra-orthodox-modesty-guard-suspected-of-beating-jerusalem-woman-1.285329
It has no bearing on the author's claim of "systemic inequalityÂ" against women in Israel, which is unfounded.
(Note: there are 24 women parliamentarians in Israel, so 20% is correct. Only 14% women reps. in the USA, tsk, tsk!).
Scores of women get beheaded or hanged (fatally) by the governments of Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc, every year for the "crimes" of having consensual sex with a man, "witchcraft" - but the Israel-bashers have nothing to say about such matters. Not a word.
The story of an elderly woman executed for "sorcery" by the Saudi government was covered by HuffPo last month, but no comments from Nwo2012, Bill Sampson, etc.
How odd! See
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/12/saudi-arabia-woman-sorcery-executed_n_1142942.html
But one Israeli girl is spat at, and - weeks later - the Israel-bashers are still ranting about it.