Women of the Wall

Feminism arrives at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, in the form of a women's prayer group started in 1989. Despite verbal and physical attack, these women continue fighting for the right to pray in this holy space, thereby testing the limits of and expanding the interpretations of Judaism in Israel. In May 2000 the group once again made international headlines when the Israeli Supreme Court ruled in their favor after an eleven year court case. This decision, however, dismantled only the legal barrier to their struggle, and not the cultural or societal ones barring their freedom of spiritual expression. Women of the Wall is a useful discussion tool to raise dialogue about issues of religious freedom, separation of religion and state, women's rights, women's status in religion, and civil disobedience.