ABSTRACT

This chapter analyzes the legal and public implications of the Women of the Wall's (WOW) achievements. It deals with an exposition of the Status Quo at the Western Wall before and after 1967 with regard to the controversy over the historical, existing and renewing "local custom". The chapter presents the challenge posed by the WOW before the hegemonic group and the government of Israel. It describes the development of the dispute in the public and legal arenas. The chapter also analyzes the action strategies of the parties, pointing out the reasons for the WOW's success, and assessing the implications for granting representation at the Western Wall to both the WOW and the non-Orthodox streams. The WOW organization unites Jewish women of all observances: some members define themselves as Orthodox, while others are Reform and Conservative. The WOW has decided to challenge women's inferiority in the Jewish religion by breaking the male hegemony precisely at the place holiest to Judaism.