Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, the senior rov of the Old City of Yerushalayim, has withdrawn an earlier protest letter concerning a planned Christian event near the Kosel after receiving additional information about the nature and location of the gathering.
The initial letter was signed after Rav Nebenzahl was reportedly told that a “mass Christian prayer” was scheduled to take place at the Kosel plaza. Subsequently, Rav Shmuel Rabinowitz, rov of the Kosel and the mekomos hakedoshim, presented Rav Nebenzahl with details of the event as understood by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.
Following that discussion, Rav Nebenzahl issued a new letter explicitly asking that his earlier letter no longer be used.
“I hereby request that no use be made of the letter that I was asked to sign, after the details regarding the event in question were presented to me,” Rav Nebenzahl wrote.
Rav Nebenzahl went on to express his confidence in Rav Rabinowitz and his stewardship of the Kosel.
“I rely on Rav Shmuel Rabinowitz, rov of the Kosel and the mekomos hakedoshim, to preserve the remnant of our Bais Hamikdash in holiness and purity and to uphold religion properly, as he has wisely done for many years to prevent the desecration of God’s Name and the desecration of the holy,” he wrote.
Rav Nebenzahl also requested that the clarification be forwarded to the other rabbonim who had signed the original protest letter. He concluded his letter with the words, “Love truth and peace.”
The controversy emerged this week following reports about an event planned for October 7 involving Christian participants in the vicinity of the Kosel.
Yehonatan Yifrach, a reporter for News 0404, said during Kol Chai’s main news broadcast that promotional material circulated overseas had portrayed the gathering as a Christian prayer event connected to the Kosel.
According to Yifrach, officials with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation clarified that no mass Christian prayer service is scheduled to take place in the Kosel plaza itself. Instead, approximately 1,000 Christian participants are expected to attend an event at the Davidson Center in the southern Kosel area, with a live broadcast from the Kosel taking place in conjunction with the program.
Yifrach nevertheless said at the time that questions remained regarding what representation or activity connected to the event would take place in the Kosel plaza itself.
