Thursday, November 19, 2009

Israel: Women Arrested At Wall

From Reuters:
In a motion read by Ms Safina Kwekwe Tsungu, an Eala member from Kenya, the legislators further urged EAC member countries to ensure that women get comprehensive and accessible health services and programmes.

They expressed deep concerns on the plight of women in refugee camps and those internally displaced by armed conflicts in their home countries, saying they were chief targets of organised violence.

After a protest by Orthodox worshippers who spotted her, police escorted her to a police post and detained her for two hours before releasing her and ordering her to stay away from the holy site for 15 days, a spokeswoman said.

Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said Frankel was detained on suspicion of wearing a prayer shawl in violation of an Israeli high court ruling stating that women cannot wear religious garments at the site, in keeping with Orthodox rules. "Tensions flared, there was pushing and shouting and police intervened to prevent violence," Rosenfeld said. There were no other arrests and nobody was hurt, he added.

Frankel may face charges of performing a religious act that offends others, a statute that mandates a maximum six month jail term and a 10,000 shekel ($2,000) fine, said Anat Hoffman, director of a group that sponsors "Women of the Wall".

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think this post is garbled.

~~Nate Levin

Melisende said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Melisende said...

Thanks Nate - its an abridged version of events - just highlighting the important parts. A fuller version can be viewed by cliking on the Reuters link.

(where's the edit function when you need it!)