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Chief Rabbi David Yosef Says High Court Should Keep Hands Off Western Wall

The Jerusalem Day speech signals a sharper standoff over who sets prayer rules at Judaism’s holiest prayer site.

Overview

  • Rabbi David Yosef, speaking at Jerusalem’s Mercaz HaRav on Thursday during Jerusalem Day events, declared the Western Wall is “ours” and criticized Supreme Court involvement.
  • He said the Chief Rabbinate sent justices a detailed halachic ruling on the Wall’s sanctity through its attorneys and said the court did not respond.
  • He told judges to “remove your hands” from the site and said the Wall does not belong to the Reform movement or to the court.
  • Who sets rules at the Wall determines where men and women can pray and whether non‑Orthodox Jews gain a recognized space at the plaza that is the holiest place where Jews can pray.
  • The remarks follow recent court steps to keep plans for a southern egalitarian area moving, while the larger fight over control of the site remains unresolved.