Women of the Wall Photo Project

The challenge to promote religious pluralism in Israel is great.  One champion is the Women of the Wall (WOW), whose mission is to achieve the social and legal recognition of the right of women to wear prayer shawls, pray, and read from the Torah collectively, out loud at the Western Wall.

The WOW have been verbally abused and physically threatened at monthly Rosh Hodesh services.  Members have recently been interrogated and arrested. In response, WOW created a wise and clever campaign to gather 10,000 pictures of women holding Torah scrolls, which will be sent to Israeli government officials by Simhat Torah.

BIJ’s own Sara Heckelman proudly took up the cause at BIJ, and invited Jewish women–temple members and their friends–to be photographed holding a Sefer Torah at a number of times. You can read an article in the J. Weekly about the effort: Local women put focus on campaign for equality at Western Wall.

Here is a photo gallery of BIJ women and friends who participated in the effort.