Thousands of faithful oust women of the Wall activists

Thousands of Jews gathered in the Western Wall Plaza Friday morning for prayers at Rosh Hodesh (New Month), marking the beginning of the Hebrew month of the Av, triggering the period of traditional mourning culminating in 9 Av, which marks the destruction of the two temples of Jerusalem.

While the faithful invaded Friday Square, a small group of left-wing activists, known as "Women of the Wall," held a mixed prayer service on the main square, violating the instructions authorities, who ordered the group to remain in a special prayer area reserved for non-traditional services.

The sacred site is divided into gender-separated prayer spaces, with a special egalitarian and mixed space badigned to non-Orthodox groups towards the southern end of the Wailing Wall.

Despite this, and in defiance of the regulations of Israel P olice and the state body that runs the Western Wall Plaza, the "Women of the Wall" held their own monthly prayer service from Rosh Hodesh on the main square, outside the prayer area intended for mixed services.

The Wall Heritage Foundation, which runs the site, sentenced Women of the Wall on Friday, accusing them of disrupting prayer services by refusing to use the space allocated for non-traditional services.

"The Foundation made great efforts for this interim period the instructions of the Attorney General and the Supreme Court, although this group [Women of the Wall] refused to follow the instructions given by representatives of the Foundation." [19659009"ThisincidentsaddensusandwecallonallpartiestorespectthesacrednessoftheWailingWallandtherulesconcerningprayerinthesquare"