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US Reform rabbis join monthly Women of the Wall protest that recent proposed legislation would have barred
(JTA) — American Reform rabbis joined Women of the Wall for the group’s monthly prayer service at the Western Wall, weeks after members of the Israeli government introduced, then quickly withdrew, a law that would have banned their activity.
In addition, police intervened to stop Orthodox counter-protesters who tried to disrupt a separate prayer service at a space allocated for egalitarian worship.
Every month for more than a decade, a group called Women of the Wall tries to bring a Torah to the women’s section of the holy site, known in Hebrew as the Kotel, despite objections from the rabbi who oversees the space. Their prayer services occur on the first day of each Hebrew month, when the Torah is traditionally read, and are opposed by Orthodox leaders who see the services as a desecration of the holy space.
Wednesday marked the first new Jewish month since legislation that would have criminalized egalitarian prayer and immodest dress at the Western Wall was proposed, then quickly walked back amid a widespread outcry.
Reform rabbis from the United States were among the crowds of people joining and supporting the Women of the Wall demonstration. The Reform movement brought more than 200 rabbis to Israel this week for a convention, held in the country for the first time since the pandemic. Their Israeli colleagues joined them for a march and the prayer service.
“As a woman, a rabbi, the only woman chief executive in the CCAR’s 134-year history & as a proud feminist, I’m bound by Jewish values to support not only Women of the Wall but to proudly hold the Torah for all women told they cannot worship freely at the Kotel,” Rabbi Hara Person, the head of the movement’s rabbinical association, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, said in a statement.
Gilad Kariv, a Reform rabbi who is a member of Knesset, Israel’s parliament, played the role he has since being elected in 2021. The Orthodox rabbi who oversees the Western Wall Plaza has sought to block women from bringing Torahs by having guards remove them during the security screening at the plaza’s entrance. As a member of parliament, Kariv does not have to undergo those screenings and can bring the Torah scroll in.
Today, Rabbi Hara Person, Chief Executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis & Rabbi Erica Asch, President Elect, with Women of the Wall, MARAM rabbis & #Reformrabbis from across America & around the world joined together at the Kotel to carry the Torah & pray openly. pic.twitter.com/Zb6SEequwC
— CCAR (@ReformRabbis) February 22, 2023
While another Knesset member from a haredi Orthodox party tried to block Kariv’s delivery of the Torah, the prayer service took place as planned. Teenagers associated with the far-right Noam Party heckled the women, as well as men and women praying together at a separate service in an egalitarian space administered by the Conservative-Masorti movement. But police intervened to restrain the Noam protesters, according to local media reports.
The police pledged to deploy additional officers on the first day of the month in the wake of an incident in which Orthodox protesters disrupted the bar mitzvah of an American boy last summer in the egalitarian prayer section, and police officers did not intervene.
An agreement approved by the Israeli government in 2016 would have expanded a the egalitarian prayer area. 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.
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UK Man in Court Charged With Arson at Former London Synagogue
Orthodox Jews stand by a police cordon, after a man was arrested following a stabbing incident in the Golders Green area, which is home to a large Jewish population, in London, Britain, April 29, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A British man charged over an arson attack at a former synagogue in east London last week was in contact with someone using an Iraqi phone number shortly before the fire, prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday.
Moses Edwards, 45, appeared in the dock at Westminster Magistrates’ Court and was remanded in custody until a further hearing next month. He gave no indication of any plea.
The fire at the former East London Central Synagogue was caused by wine bottles filled with an accelerant, which exploded damaging the outside of the building, prosecutors said.
The incident followed a series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in previous weeks, with police saying they were investigating possible Iran links to some of the fires.
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Israeli Para-Athlete Wins Gold at European Taekwondo Championships, Beats Opponent From Azerbaijan
Asaf Yasur, center, posing with his gold medal during the awards ceremony at the 2026 European Taekwondo Championships in Munich, Germany. Photo: Facebook/Israel Taekwondo Federation
Israeli Paralympic athlete Asaf Yasur took home the gold medal in the 2026 European Senior Taekwondo Championships being held this week in Munich, Germany.
The 24-year-old competed in the men’s under-58kg weight category, and on the first day of the championships he beat Azerbaijan’s Sabir Zeynalov 2-1 in the finals after being victorious over Turkish athlete Hamza Tehrani 2-1 in the semifinal. Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah,” played in the arena during the medal ceremony, as Yasur stood on the podium with his gold medal.
The Jerusalem native had both of his hands amputated when he was 13 years old following an electrocution accident. Earlier this year, Yasur won gold at the 2026 US Open Paralympic Taekwondo Championship. He previously took home gold medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics — where he made his Paralympics debut – the 2024 European Championships, and the 2023 World Para Taekwondo Championships. He also won the 2021 and 2023 World Para Taekwondo Championships and silver at the 2023 European Para Championships.
The European Taekwondo Union organizes the European Senior Taekwondo Championships, which is held every two years. This year marks the fourth time the championship is taking place in Germany, after previous being held in Bonn in 2006, Stuttgart in 1984, and Munich in 1978.
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China and US Agree on Opposing Hormuz Tolls, State Department Says
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, May 8, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Senior US and Chinese officials agree that no country can be allowed to exact shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, the State Department told Reuters on Tuesday, in a sign that the two countries are trying to find common ground on efforts to pressure Iran to give up control of the vital waterway.
The statement by the State Department comes ahead of a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, where Iran‘s chokehold on the strait will be on the agenda.
Iran‘s near-complete closure of the vital trade artery since the joint Israeli-US airstrikes on the country on Feb. 28 has sent shockwaves through global energy markets.
The State Department said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the issue in an April phone call.
“They agreed that no country or organization can be allowed to charge tolls to pass through international waterways like the Strait of Hormuz,” department spokesman Tommy Pigott told Reuters in response to questions about the call. The State Department has not previously provided a readout of the call in a break from its usual practice.
China’s embassy did not dispute the US account of the discussion, saying it hoped all sides can work together to resume normal traffic through the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.
“Keeping the area safe and stable and ensuring unimpeded passage serves the common interest of the international community,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Reuters.
Tehran has demanded a right to collect tolls on shipping traffic as a precondition for ending the war. The US has imposed a naval blockade on Iran, and Trump has floated the possibility of imposing its own fees on traffic or working with Iran to collect tolls. After domestic and international pushback, the White House has since said Trump wants to see the Strait of Hormuz open up for traffic without any limitations.
Chinese officials so far have avoided direct mention of tolls, even while condemning the US blockade.
‘NORMAL AND SAFE PASSAGE’
Two sources briefed on the Wang-Rubio exchange said Rubio had raised the prospect of Chinese vessels paying tolls, which they said appeared aimed at encouraging Beijing to apply more pressure on Tehran to bring the conflict to an end.
China maintains ties with Iran and remains a major consumer of its oil exports. Trump has been leaning on China to use its influence to push Tehran to make a deal with Washington.
In a subsequent meeting with Iran‘s foreign minister, Wang said the international community shared a “common concern about restoring normal and safe passage through the strait” while reiterating that China supports Iran in “safeguarding its national sovereignty and security.”
China vetoed a US-backed resolution in the United Nations last month encouraging states to work together to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, arguing it was biased against Iran. That prompted US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, to argue that Beijing was tolerating Iran holding the global economy at gunpoint.
Washington together with Bahrain has drawn up another UN resolution demanding Iran halt attacks and mining in the strait, but diplomats say this is also likely to meet with Chinese and Russian vetoes if it comes to a vote.
That resolution also calls for an end to “efforts to exact illegal tolls” in the strait.
China has ordered its companies not to comply with US sanctions against Chinese oil refineries over purchases of Iranian crude, measures intended to isolate and pressure Tehran.