Due to the crowded conditions in the women's section of the
Kosel Maarovi during the holiday tefillos, Jerusalem
Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupoliansky has asked the Prime Minister's
Office to accelerate the pace of the construction work at the
Western Wall Plaza, which is slated to add space for
thousands of women. Saying that the overcrowding posed a
genuine safety hazard, the mayor demanded that the work be
completed immediately.
When the wall beneath the Mughrabi Ramp, which leads to Har
Habayis, collapsed two years ago, one-third of the ezras
noshim had to be cordoned off. Since then construction
funded by the Prime Minister's Office has been underway to
connect Dung Gate and Mughrabi Ramp.
In recent months the mayor has been working to obtain permits
from security officials, the Antiquities Authority and the
Prime Minister's Office to place the segment of the ramp
passing over the women's section on pillars, which would make
considerably more space available to women coming to pray.
Rabbi Lupoliansky also instructed Municipality Director Mr.
Eitan Meir to track progress made on construction at the site
and to ensure it is executed in a manner that will allow
expansion.
This week the mayor again contacted the Prime Minister's
Office to speed up the process. "How can the construction
work on Har Habayis be done at the expense of people coming
to pray at the holiest site of the Jewish people?" he
demanded.
