Rally Held at Israeli Embassy in Support of Anat Hoffman

On Thursday, rabbis from numerous denominations rallied in support of Anat Hoffman - the woman arrested for carrying the Torah at the Western Wall.

When Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld of the Ohev Sholom National Synagogue decided to protest the arrest of Anat Hoffman at the Western Wall by Israeli police, the Israeli Embassy cautioned him against it. According to the Rabbi, he received a call from officials at the embassy to let him know that a rally would be “embarrassing” and “not effective.” The only embarrassment seemed to be that the actions of the Jerusalem police who managed to bring Jews of several different denominations together to demand accountability.

Some 50 people bore Washington's sweltering heat on Thursday afternoon to join Herzfeld's protest in front of the Israeli Embassy. Rabbis made up a significant proportion of the group and they represented many different denominations, ranging from Orthodox to Reform.

For 30 minutes several rabbis and other members in the group spoke about why there were there: “This is something about what it means to be a Jew” said Rabbi Jonathan Roos of Temple Sinai, explaining why supporting Hoffman and attending the rally was important.

Also in attendance was Linda Yitzchak, a member of Anat Hoffman’s Israel-based organization, Women of the Wall, who witnessed Hoffman's arrest. As awful as that arrest was, Yitzchak said, she noted that  this was hardly the first time that women faced dangers at the Western Wall. Female visitors are often subject to groups of ultra-Orthodox cursing at women’s groups at they attempted to pray -- and have even had plastic chairs thrown into their prayer areas. “They are easy to toss over but they do a lot of damage” she observed.

Stephanie Bernstein, another rabbi present at the rally, spoke to FrumForum about why she believed actions such as the rally could have an impact on Israeli policy. She cited the shelving of a controversial law which would have placed control of Jewish conversions under the Orthodox Rabbi as an example where American pressure had an impact. “I think it shows that they do listen to us.”

After the rally dispersed, Rabbi Herzfeld was invited inside the embassy, though no press was allowed. Herzfeld later emerged, unsatisfied. “I asked them why the Israeli government hasn’t said anything about it. They don’t have a position, that they are still gathering the facts. Considering the event happened more than a week and a half ago, that's unacceptable.”

For Rabbi Herzfeld, the ultimate responsibility rests with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ambassador Michael Oren. Herzfeld recalled that he had seen the ambassador at services in his own synagogue where he didn’t seem to have a problem with women holding the Torah. “The onus and the responsibility is on Ambassador Oren. He needs to say this arrest does not represent Israel, this arrest does not represent me, and I am embarrassed about it.”

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Rabbi Herzfeld Calls Embassy Press Office

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Rabbi Herzfeld: “I don’t believe Michael Oren supports this arrest.”

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Herzfeld: At least 12 Rabbis were here