Shas and United Torah Judaism proposed bills in response
to a recent High Court ruling, which granted the Reform group Women
of the Wall permission to hold monthly prayers that would
subject women who pray with a Torah at the Kosel Ham'arovi to
jail sentences of up to seven years. The two bills passed
the Knesset on preliminary reading, despite opposition from
the government.
The Court decision is to be implemented within six months.
However, the State Attorney's Office said it will ask for
another hearing.
Under the Shas bill, non-religious activities would not be allowed
in the wider Kosel plaza without special permission.
"Unacceptable"
prayers and "improper dress" would also be banned. Violations
would carry a maximum of six months imprisonment or a NIS 2,000 fine.
The UTJ bill would enforce the separation of men and women at the
Kosel, and impose a seven-year sentence against women who pray
with a Torah, shofar, tallis, or tefillin. It
was submitted and put to a vote without the 45-day waiting period,
since it was similar to the Shas bill.
UTJ MK Rabbi Avraham Ravitz said that the prison sentence is not the
main issue, noting that the party wanted to make a point that the
matter is very important to it. "At the Kosel, we have
to behave according to halacha," he said.
"It's not we who originated the seven-year sentence," he said.
"According to the law books of the State of Israel, seven years
is the punishment for anyone who offends religious sensitivities [at
holy sites].
"In this case there are thousands and thousands of Jews-- maybe
millions around the world--who don't see the Kosel as a
place for various come-and-go organizations to make their `statements,'
nor do they see it as a place for confrontation."
He explained that the law proposed by the UTJ did not deal with the
prison sentence. "Seven years is definitely a severe prison term,
but this wasn't the issue. When it comes up for deliberation in committee,
we will discuss this.
"As far as I'm concerned, the sentence could be shortened to seven
minutes!" he said.
MK Ravitz explained that the legislation is "essentially a form
of protest against the High Court's interference into areas not its
own." Through its ruling, he said, the Court circumvented the
existing law, "so we passed a law that circumvents the Court's
circumvention."
MKs from the National Religious Party, National Union, Likud, and
Shas leader Eli Yishai supported the bills, which were opposed by
Meretz, One Israel, Shinui, Center, and the Arab parties.
MK Moshe Gafni of the United Torah Judaism called the High Court justices
"a pack of militant secularists who wants to force their religious
opinions and values on us. They want to uproot all the basic tenets
of Judaism, and have become a branch of the Shinui party."
