The senior leadership of the Reform Movement in the US condemned the body searches conducted on women seeking to pray in a Women of the Wall service by officials at the Western Wall on Wednesday.
President of the Union for Reform Judaism Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of Hebrew Union College Rabbi Aharon Panken and Rabbi Steven Fox, director of the Central Conference of American Rabbis of Reform rabbis in North America described the body searches as “belittling in the extreme” and “humiliating.”
They also noted that the body searches contradict a ruling of the High Court of Justice in January which explicitly banned security officials from conducting any searches which go beyond normal security requirements.
The rabbis also noted that the women had already gone through the metal detectors for the standard security procedure and therefore did not pose any security threat, and assigned blame to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which Rabinowitz chairs, for trying to humiliate Reform leaders.
“Our goal in preparing youth for leadership is to encourage love and commitment to Israel,” wrote the rabbis.
“We will continue to struggle for justice and will continue to work to create an Israel that we can be proud of, and the actions of the Western Wall officials yesterday just makes this harder.”