Four women were arrested for praying at the Western Wall, considered to be Judaism’s most holy site. They were in violation of a new decree that had just been passed that morning forbidding women to enter the plaza with Jewish holy articles such as tallitot (a prayer shawl) and tefillen (pictured above).
One woman was detained and interrogated before even entering the holy site. The three other woman (one from New Jersey and two from the UK) made it into the plaza before they were taken and interrogated. This follows the arrests of six women last month and the arrest, overnight detainment, and roughing up of Anat Hoffman two months ago.
Hoffman is the chairwoman of Women of the Wall, an organization to which all 10 other women arrested belong. It’s a 25-year-old organization that holds prayer services at the Wall at the beginning of every Hebrew month.
Isn’t it funny that no matter where you go in the world or what religion they’re a part of, if religious fundamentalists have power the first thing they do is try to control and restrict the rights of women. Maybe Israel and Iran aren’t so different after all.
(h/t Haaretz)