Female Students Strip Searched at Western Wall; Guards Had 4 Women Lift Their Shirts and Skirts

Guards at the entrance to the Western Wall complex in Jerusalem "strip searched" four female rabbinical students today (August 23, 2017) ahead of the Women of the Wall's monthly prayer service at the holy site, according to the Times of Israel website.


The Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), which serves as the legal arm of the Reform Movement in Israel, said the four students of Hebrew Union College were delayed and questioned by guards, then were asked to lift up their shirts and skirts.


The director of the IRAC said the searches were "a new low" for the Western Wall rabbinate, which is strongly opposed to the Women of the Wall.


"This is a new low for the Rabbi of the Kotel trying to intimidate, humiliate, and exclude liberal women trying to pray at the Western Wall..." Rabbi Noa Sattath said in a statement.