State: Kosel Koton is Not a Holy Site

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koselIsrael’s  representatives have determined that the “Kosel Hakoton,” a wall which is a continuation of the Kosel in Yerushalayim, is not a holy site. The statement was submitted to the court as part of the reply to a damages lawsuit filed by a group of Jews who davened at the Small Kosel on Rosh HaShana of 5767 (2006).

One member of the group, Elihu Kleiman, was arrested after he blew the shofar. The group of Jews who sued for damages also said they were beaten by police, who denied them their freedom to worship at a holy site.

The “Small Kosel” is nothing but “an inner courtyard of several residential homes in the Muslim quarter,” the State determined in its response.

Like the Kosel, the Kosel HaKatan is an exposed face of the original western wall of the Har Habayis, built by King Herod over 2,000 years ago. However, compared to its famous “bigger brother,” the Small Wall is less accessible and looks less impressive: it is barely 10 meters long, less of its height has been exposed and its plaza is much narrower.

In fact, however, the Kosel HaKatan can be considered holier than the better known Kosel, because it is located 200 yards to the north – and therefore practically opposite the actual site of the Kodesh Hakodoshim.

Attorney Daniel Robins, who represents the group of Jews who were praying at the site in 2006 and who sued the State, told Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew-language service that Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, the Kosel Rabbi, testified before the court as to the sanctity of the site, but the State rejected the power of Jewish Law to determine the site’s sanctity.

Robins said that he hopes the State is not acting out of political considerations in rejecting the sanctity of the Kosel HaKatan. He noted that the site is included in the area that Defense Minister Ehud Barak wants to hand over to the Arabs in a peace deal.

{Arutz Shevah/Matzav.com}


7 COMMENTS

  1. ” . . . but the State rejected the power of Jewish Law to determine the site’s sanctity.”

    On what basis is someplace determined to be a holy site then?

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