This morning (Monday), an inscription was discovered on the stones of the Western Wall in its southern section – a grave act constituting desecration and harm to the sanctity of the site sacred to the Jewish people.
The rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, expressed sorrow and strong protest over this serious and unprecedented act, carried out with blatant disrespect for the sanctity of the site.
In his remarks, the rabbi said: “A holy place is not a venue for expressing protests – whatever they may be – and all the more so when it is done at the holiest site to the entire Jewish people. The police must investigate the incident, locate the perpetrators of this desecration, and bring them to justice.”
In the past, a similar incident occurred on the northern side of the Western Wall, at which time extensive halachic (Jewish law) discussions were held on the matter of removing inscriptions from the stones. This time as well, the rabbi will instruct the professional teams on how to clean and remove the inscription in a way that will not harm the sanctity of the stones.