The Jewish Taliban in Jerusalem
Jewish Woman Arrested for Praying in a Prayer Shawl
Earlier today, Nofrat Frenkel, a Jewish woman, was arrested in Jerusalem for the crime of trying to pray with a Torah and for wearing a prayer shawl at the Western Wall (the “Kotel”). Frenkel was not alone. She was part of a woman’s prayer group (the Women of the Wall) which today consisted of 40 other women, some of whom are American Jews. Frenkel was “pushed into a nearby police station and then transferred to the main police station at Yaffo Gate.” But, the 40 women formed a procession and followed the police; they remained at the station, singing” (probably praying and chanting psalms) until the police released Frenkel.
According to one of the visiting Americans, Rabbi Felicia Sol, “It is ridiculous that in a Jewish state that is supposedly democratic, women cannot pray the way they want to and only one definition of Judaism is accepted.”
As everyone knows, I am a passionate advocate for the state of Israel and view the country both as a necessary miracle and as the only democracy in the Middle East. I am also a religious Jew; I pray with a modern Orthodox congregation and study Torah with joy. I understand what is religiously forbidden and what is religiously permitted. Although the matter is complex and controversial, please understand that what the Women of the Wall tried to do today is not forbidden by halakha (Jewish religious law). They are praying in a women-only group. They do not count themselves as a minyan (prayer quorum). They omit certain prayers.
AUTHOR BIO
Phyllis Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies at City University of New York. She is an author, psychotherapist and an expert courtroom witness. She has lectured and organized political, legal, religious and human rights campaigns in the United States and in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. A popular guest on campuses and in national and international print, television, radio and online media, she has been an expert commentator on the major events of our time. She has lived in Kabul, Afghanistan, and in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. She currently resides in Manhattan.
