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| Wednesday, June 7 2000 21:02 5 Sivan 5760 |
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Gov't asks court for rehearing on Women of the Wall JERUSALEM (June 7) - The government has asked the High Court of Justice for another hearing before an expanded panel, on its decision to allow the Women of the Wall to wear prayer shawls and read from a Torah scroll at the Western Wall prayer area on the first day of the Jewish month. Justices Eliahu Mazza, Tova Strasberg-Cohen, and Dorit Beinisch ruled on May 22 that the women could conduct their entire service at the Western Wall, including the reading of the Torah. They gave the state six months to make logistical arrangements that would minimize as much as possible the affront to the opponents of the all-women service. Attorney Uzi Fogelman, head of the High Court Petitions Section of the State Attorney'âs Office, wrote in his request to Supreme Court President Aharon Barak, that the High Court decision "does nothing to minimize the affront to the feelings of those who pray at the wall according to the long-standing custom of the place." Fogelman charged that the High Court had not taken into account the importance of the custom at Judaism's holiest site. "The verdict creates a significant change in the way the prayer service is conducted at the Western Wall prayer area, as well as a significant change in the approach of the court regarding the proper balance between the right to conduct ritual at holy sites and considerations of public safety and the sensibilities of people, and of the role of the court in matters involving religious ritual arrangements at holy sites. "The handling of matters having to do with holy sites in general, and those of the Old City of Jerusalem in particular, require a special degree of sensitivity and caution. In a series of consistent decisions that have emanated from this court, the rule has been that the court is not easily persuaded to impose its opinion on the authorities in charge of safeguarding public order and protecting the holy sites. "The verdict in the Women in the Wall petition contradicts this policy." Fogelman urged the court to reverse its decision and rule that the Women of the Wall should hold their service at Robinson's Arch, outside and below the historic prayer area. Even if there are some problems with the site, wrote Fogelman, its advantages outweigh them by far. "The Western Wall has been serving as a prayer area day in and day out according to its own particular custom, which differs from the women's custom," wrote Fogelman. "The decision to allow the petitioners to pray according to their custom at the site could hurt feelings, increase tensions and lead to violence. "On the other hand, allowing the government to allocate different sites, close to the Western Wall, for different prayer customs, will give everyone the right to observe their ritual while protecting the feelings and safety of the public." Previous Next News
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