Police Make More Arrests at Kotel

“It’s very troubling for those of us in the States who see this as our Jewish homeland and yet half of us don’t have access to be who we are at our holiest sites. I wear a tallit every time I pray, but here in the Jewish state, I can’t. It’s ironic that it’s the only place in the world where I can’t.”

from Haaretz (registration required):

Jerusalem police detain 10 women after Western Wall prayers

Ten women who took part in a monthly prayer service at Western Wall on Monday were arrested as they were leaving the plaza of the holy site, and taken in for questioning by police.

Among those arrested were Anat Hoffman, the chairwoman of Women of the Wall; Lesley Sachs, its director; Rabbi Susan Silverman, the sister of comedian Sarah Silverman, along with her teenage daughter Hallel Abramowitz; Lior Nevo, a rabbinical student in the advanced stages of pregnancy; and two rabbis from the United States – Debra Cantor from Connecticut and Robin Fryer Bodzin from New York.

Police waited until most of the hundreds of participants in the service, their supporters, and the media had dispersed to make the arrests.