Resources and Information for Defending Egalitarian Prayer at the Kotel

Here are resources and helpful information about defending egalitarian prayer at the Kotel and blocking the Kotel Bill

Take action now:

Email Your Israeli Consulate

The Israeli government hosts representatives in the capitals of the U.S. and Canada, as well as throughout North America. Their responsibility includes maintaining the Israel-Diaspora relationship. Use our action alert to contact your embassy and consulate.

Read the Reform Movement’s Statement

Reform Movement Condemns Knesset Vote to Criminalize Egalitarian Prayer at the Western Wall 

What is the Kotel?

The Kotel, also known as the Western Wall, is Judaism’s holiest site. Located in Jerusalem’s Old City, it was built as part of the 1,555,000 square-foot plaza on which the Temple stood. It is the closest point to the holiest room of the temple, the Holy of Holies. Today, Jews make the pilgrimage to the Kotel to pray, unite with God, and insert notes written with wishes in the wall.
Learn more about the Kotel

Background on Egalitarian Access to the Kotel

Access to the Kotel is a core issue of religious pluralism in Israel. As a holy site, touching the wall’s stones and feeling closer to the ancient Holy of Holies is a deeply meaningful experience. It’s essential that Jews from all the diverse aspects of our people have the opportunity to pray at the Kotel consistent with their Jewish practices.
Egalitarian prayers have been conducted at the Western Wall since the 1970s. This history includes the Women of the Wall, who have fought since 1988 for the rights of Jewish women to wear prayer shawls, pray and read from the Torah, and more at the Western Wall. They meet each Rosh Hodesh morning on the women’s side of the Kotel.
In 2013, a provisional plaza was erected in Robinson’s Arch. However, it is outside the main Plaza of the Kotel. It is hidden and not funded by the State of Israel, but by the Israeli Conservative movement.
In 2016, following three years of negotiations with the Reform and Conservative movements and Women of the Wall, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government approved a comprise that would upgrade the existing egalitarian prayer space at the Southern portion of the Kotel in order to create “One Wall with Two prayer spaces”  – equal in access, funding and administration. However, this agreement was abandoned by the government, and no later government has followed through on this promise.
Despite the Israeli government spending millions of shekels annually for upkeep on the Kotel’s northern section, the southern egalitarian section lacks sufficient upkeep, and visitors are not allowed to touch the actual Wall after a stone fell eight years ago. The State does not publicize its existence and does not fund it.
In October 2025, the World Zionist Congress overwhelmingly approved Resolution No. 5. It calls on the Israeli government to reopen the egalitarian section of the Kotel and allow all streams of Judaism to practice at the Western Wall.
In February 2026, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the government to fulfill the only part of the 2016 agreement that the PM committed to do – reopening and renovating the egalitarian section of the Kotel to make it more accessible and respectable. That same week, at the Women of the Wall Rosh Chodesh prayers, Yochi Rappeport (Women of the Wall CEO) and Tammy Gottlieb (Women of the Wall deputy chair and member of WZO board) were detained on the grounds that their reading from the Torah at the entrance to the Wall (they were not allowed to bring the Torah scroll inside the Kotel) as a “disturbance to public order.” It had been years since the last time such an arrest was made.
Learn more about the timeline of the Kotel Deal.

What is the Kotel bill?

After the Supreme Court decision, MK Avi Maoz, with the support of Justice Minister Yariv Levin and others in the governing coalition, decided to promote a bill (submitted back in 2023 but never pushed forward) in the Knesset stating for the first time that the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Chief Rabbinate would have sole control over the Kotel as a whole – including the egalitarian section. The bill, which is likely to pass in a preliminary reading, would imprison anyone for up to seven years for praying at the Kotel contrary to ultra-Orthodox standards.

Why You Should Care

The debate over MK Avi Maoz’s draft legislation is about whether Israel will be a state of the Jewish people, or a state for one interpretation of Judaism. For North American Jews, caring about this issue is not interference. It is investment. It reflects the conviction that Jewish sovereignty should reflect the diversity, dignity, and shared destiny of the Jewish people everywhere. If Israel is truly our shared homeland, then sacred space must reflect shared belonging.

The holiest site of the Jewish people must allow all Jews to pray as they wish – Israelis and Jews from the Diaspora alike.

At a time when Jewish unity is needed, the Israeli government is isolating 85% of the world’s Jewish population from one of our faith’s holiest sites. This affects bar/bat/b’nai mitzvahs, conversions, life-cycle moments, and basic dignity of prayer. It is a backwards step from a democratic Israel that celebrates religious pluralism, where all forms of Jewish identity are celebrated.

This legislation is one part of a larger effort to undermine religious pluralism and the diversity of the Jewish people. If we fail to take action here, we risk further harms like:

Abolishing non-Orthodox conversion recognition

Limiting public funding for pluralistic institutions

Expanding rabbinic court jurisdiction

Narrowing the definition of Jewish legitimacy

Giving complete control of a holy site to one branch of Judaism is undemocratic. No single stream of Judaism gets to determine what counts as Jewish practice. Our commitment to defending democracy demands we take a stand.

The global Jewish people must raise our collective voice on this pressing issue. Every ambassador, consul general, and other representatives tasked with Israel-Diaspora relations must hear that we will not tolerate this demonizing and dangerous legislation.

Useful background information and resources to share

Read Rabbi Rick Jacobs and Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal’s op-ed criticizing the criminalization of egalitarian prayer at the Kotel.

The Kotel Bill and the Betrayal of Zionism By Rabbi Josh Weinberg

Inside the Struggle for Equality at the Western Wall: The Pluralist Podcast with Rabbi Josh Weinberg and Orly Erez-Likhovski

Explainer: The “Western Wall Law” All your questions answered about the “Western Wall Law” under debate this week, the religious, political, and judicial background that led to the present situation, and where we might go from here in this core question of the balance of religion and state in Israel.

Join Our Social Media Campaign

Download and post the graphic or post a picture of yourself at the Kotel or praying in an egalitarian setting with the caption below. Join us with the hashtags #thewallisforall #prayerisnotacrime. Then, make the graphic your profile picture to spread awareness.

Legislation in Israel would criminalize egalitarian religious activities at the Kotel. The law would imprison me and millions of Jews for 7 years for practicing our faith. Expressing our Jewish identity in Israel should not be a crime. #thewallisforall #prayerisnotacrime

Stay Involved: Join the Israel Organizing Project

Legislative attempts to restrict access to the Kotel is a symptom of wider issues in Israel regarding religious pluralism, democracy, and justice. The URJ created the Israel Organizing Project for leaders who are committed to advancing these values and taking action in their communities. The Israel Organizing Project plays a critical role in advancing Reform values in Israel while deepening relationships between Reform Jews in North American and Israel. The Israel Organizing Project is split up into three action teams that research, organize, and drive our work.

You and your congregation can join the Israel Organizing Project by filling out this form.