JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Alongside the thousands of worshippers who gathered Wednesday morning for the Rosh Chodesh Av prayers at the Western Wall, the Women of the Wall group also held a prayer service at the site.

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation accused the group of turning the Western Wall plaza into “a site for demonstrations, something unprecedented in hundreds of years.” The foundation also claimed that the women violated existing regulations and court directives by bringing a Torah scroll into the Western Wall plaza.

לצד אלפי המתפללים שבאו הבוקר לתפילת ראש חודש אב, המציין את הימים שבהם ממעטים בשמחה ומתאבלים על חורבן בית המקדש, הגיעה גם קבוצת נשות הכותל, שהפכה את רחבת הכותל המערבי לאתר הפגנה – דבר שלא היה כמותו מאות שנים במטרה ליצור פרובוקציה pic.twitter.com/ignUNmp5kr

— ישראל כהן (@Israelcohen911) July 15, 2026

ראש חודש אב: נשות הכותל שוב הכניסו ספר תורה לרחבת הכותל המערבי. עימותים בין המשטרה למתפללים pic.twitter.com/L3aMSE1yRl

— חזקי ברוך (@HezkeiB) July 15, 2026

“The Western Wall Heritage Foundation regrets the escalating tensions that have occurred in recent months, which intensified even further this Rosh Chodesh,” the foundation said in a statement. “We call on everyone to stop turning the Western Wall plaza into a place for protests. The Western Wall is not a place for whistles or shouting, nor is it a place for provocations that desecrate its sanctity.”

The Women of the Wall presented a different account, claiming that “rioters, both men and women, surrounded the women, whistled, screamed, cursed at them, and shoved them. Police removed some of the individuals involved.”

MK Avi Maoz, chairman of the Noam Party, who was present at the scene, sharply criticized the governing coalition, arguing that responsibility for the recurring confrontations lies with coalition leaders for failing to pass his proposed Western Wall legislation.

“We came once again to the Western Wall, and unfortunately, once again there were provocations and the desecration of this holy place,” Maoz said. “The responsibility lies with the heads of the coalition, from the prime minister to the charedi and Religious Zionist representatives, who failed to pass my Western Wall Law. Had the legislation been completed, we would not be witnessing this disgrace today.”

The Western Wall Law, introduced by Maoz and approved in a preliminary Knesset reading, seeks to amend Israel’s Protection of Holy Places Law by granting the Chief Rabbinate sole authority to establish the rules governing prayer and conduct at the Western Wall.

The stated purpose of the bill is to prevent judicial intervention by Israel’s High Court in determining prayer arrangements at the site and to formally anchor the Chief Rabbinate’s authority over the management of the Western Wall and the definition of actions considered to violate its sanctity.