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Bill to criminalize egalitarian prayer and immodest dress at the Western Wall is shelved after outcry
(JTA) — A proposed Israeli law that would sharply curtail the rights of women and non-Orthodox Jews at the Western Wall sparked alarm on Thursday, leading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pledge that regulations at the holy site would “remain exactly the same” as they are now.
The bill was submitted by a lawmaker from Shas, the Sephardi haredi Orthodox party that is a member of Netanyahu’s governing coalition. It would have criminalized mixed-gender prayer at the site, as well as immodest dress and the playing of musical instruments. Women would also be forbidden from reading from a Torah scroll or blowing a shofar at the site. Women would also not be allowed to don prayer shawls or tefillin, the leather boxes and straps traditionally worn by Jews during morning prayers, and historically worn only by men.
The bill’s provisions would have also applied to the Wall’s non-Orthodox section, adjacent to the main plaza. Offenders would have faced a fine of approximately $3,000, or six months in prison.
The legislation is the latest salvo in a decades-long battle over policy at Judaism’s holiest prayer site and who gets to determine it. Non-Orthodox groups, and American Jewish organizations, have long advocated for egalitarian and women-led prayer to be allowed at the wall. Orthodox groups have pushed for worship at the site to remain exclusively under their purview.
An agreement approved by the Israeli government in 2016 would have expanded a non-Orthodox prayer area adjacent to the main plaza. That deal, however, was suspended the following year after backlash from haredi parties. The Israeli Supreme Court, which the current government wants to disempower, is due to discuss whether the agreement must be implemented at an upcoming hearing.
Thursday’s bill, however, appears to be a dead letter. In a video posted to Twitter, Netanyahu said the legislation “will not be brought up at present.”
“The status quo at the Wall, which is dear to all of the Jewish people, will remain exactly as it is today,” he said, adding that the law’s provisions outlawing immodest dress or musical instruments “are not acceptable to anyone.”
Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party and the son of a Conservative rabbi, tweeted that the Western Wall, known in Hebrew as the Kotel, “is a national and religious symbol that belongs to the whole Jewish people: secular and religious, left-wing and right-wing, women and men in Israel and abroad. The legislation that would change the status quo and threaten sanctions due to sleeves or instruments is unnecessary and damaging.”
Even haredi voices rose up against the proposed legislation. Kikar HaShabbat, Israel’s largest haredi news site, published an editorial saying the bill “does not befit the sanctity of the Western Wall.”
The bill would have outlawed the activities of Women of the Wall, a prayer group that meets monthly at the wall’s women’s section and that advocates for women’s rights at the site. In the past, the group’s members have been harassed by haredi activists and detained by police for their activities. On Thursday, the group sent an email blast on with the subject line, “It’s off to jail we go?”
“If we have to sit in jail, we will sit in jail,” the email said. “Arrests did not stop us in the past, and they won’t stop us in the future. We will not give up our fight for women’s rights at the Kotel.”
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US Rejects Israel’s Request to Maintain Sanctions Against Syria
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
i24 News – US President Donald Trump has rejected an effort by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent the full lifting of US sanctions on Syria, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported Saturday evening.
According to the report, Netanyahu associates contacted members of Trump’s inner circle in an attempt to keep some sanctions in place as leverage for future diplomatic negotiations. The effort was unsuccessful, with Trump’s advisers reportedly opposing any partial approach and favoring a complete removal of the restrictions.
Despite the refusal, two Israeli officials told Kan that the Trump administration promised Israel some form of political or strategic compensation in response to Jerusalem’s concerns.
The report comes as the US Congress recently voted to permanently repeal sanctions imposed on Syria under former president Bashar al-Assad, clearing the way for foreign investment to return to the war-torn country after more than a decade of conflict. Trump had previously suspended the sanctions twice, following pressure from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, key backers of Syria’s new leadership.
Syria is now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist leader who had strongly advocated for the complete repeal of sanctions. He argued that maintaining sanctions under US law continued to deter international companies from engaging economically with Syria, even after political changes.
The repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, enacted in 2019, was included in the annual US defense bill and passed by a wide margin in the Senate, 77–20, after approval by the House of Representatives. The legislation, named after a Syrian military photographer who documented abuses in Assad’s prisons, had effectively isolated Syria from the global financial system and now awaits Trump’s signature.
On Friday, al-Sharaa addressed the Syrian public to welcome the lifting of sanctions, publicly thanking Trump as well as Saudi, Qatari and Turkish leaders. His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was removed from the US terrorism list in July, as the new Syrian leadership seeks to present a more moderate image and normalize ties with the international community.
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Report: Iran Advances Missile Program, Continued Arms Transfers to Regional Proxies
An Iranian missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, Aug. 20, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Reports indicate that Iran has resumed development of its ballistic missile program while continuing to supply weapons to allied militias across the Middle East.
According to an unnamed US official speaking to Saudi Al-Arabiya, Tehran is using “every possible means” to transfer arms via both land and sea, viewing support for its regional proxies as a top strategic priority.
The official emphasized that the United States is actively working to prevent these shipments, coordinating with regional partners including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq to secure borders and limit arms transfers.
However, challenges persist, particularly in Lebanon, where the army is heavily engaged in efforts to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the south, leaving border control vulnerable. Iranian shipments reportedly also rely on Lebanese ports, which authorities are struggling to monitor effectively.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed the state of the country’s nuclear facilities, confirming that they suffered “serious damage” during June’s 12-day conflict with Israel. Speaking to Russia Today, Araghchi insisted that while the attacks caused physical destruction, Iran’s technical capabilities remain intact.
“Technology cannot be bombed,” he said, adding that Tehran has rebuilt what was damaged and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to its nuclear program and right to uranium enrichment.
Araghchi warned that any attempt to repeat the previous strikes would fail. “If they [Israel] want to repeat the same failed experiment, they will not achieve a better outcome,” he said, signaling Tehran’s determination to restore and continue its nuclear and military programs despite international scrutiny.
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Sa’ar Urges Diaspora Jews to Move to Israel Amid Rising Anti-Semitism
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks next to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and EU commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica as they hold a press conference on the day of an EU-Israel Association Council with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
i24 News – Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar delivered a sharply worded address on Sunday evening at a Hanukkah candle-lighting conference in Rishon Lezion, using the gathering to criticize Israel’s opposition leadership and call on Jews abroad to immigrate to Israel amid rising global antisemitism.
The event, attended by around 1,000 activists and supporters along with Knesset members and local mayors, marked Sa’ar’s first major public conference since announcing his return to the Likud party.
As he lit the eighth candle of Hanukkah, Sa’ar framed his remarks around national resilience, security, and leadership during wartime.
Addressing Jews in the Diaspora, Sa’ar warned that antisemitism has intensified worldwide and accused many foreign governments of failing to respond decisively. He said Israel had invested significant diplomatic effort over the past year to push back against what he described as a new wave of open antisemitism, including convening an international conference in Jerusalem earlier this year.
“Jews have the right to live safely anywhere,” Saar said, “but history teaches us to recognize danger when we see it.” He appealed directly to Jewish communities in countries including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, and Belgium, urging them to immigrate to Israel.
Sa’ar described Israel as the only place where Jews can fully ensure their security and identity, calling on families to “come home” to the Jewish state.
Sa’ar also launched a fierce attack on opposition leaders over their conduct during the ongoing war, singling out opposition head Yair Lapid without naming him directly. He accused opposition figures of advocating an end to the conflict on terms favorable to Israel’s enemies, even as the government pursued military operations against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran-backed threats.
According to Sa’ar, while the government was making what he called difficult and historic decisions to weaken Israel’s adversaries, the opposition was promoting what he characterized as surrender-driven policies in exchange for hostage releases. “Either way,” Sa’ar said, “they are unworthy of leadership.”