ANAT HOFFMAN, chair of the Israel Religious Action Committee (IRAC) and one of the leaders of the Reform movement in Israel and of Women of the Wall (WOW), was arrested on July 12 for holding a Sefer Torah during a celebration at the Western Wall (Kotel).

Women of the Wall (WOW) gather every Rosh Chodesh (the first day of the Hebrew month, see note at right) to hold eary morning services on the women's side of the Kotel. Hoffman, holding a Sefer Torah in her arms, led the 150 women-strong prayer group in song as they continued their celebration in a procession toward nearby Robinson's Arch.

Moments after leaving the Wall, a policeman confronted Hoffman and tried to stop her, but the procession continued, still singing loudly, with some women putting their arms around her to protect her. Around the corner, more police, male and female, confronted and blocked the procession and wrestled with the women to remove the Torah from Hoffman's arms. One woman fell down the stairs. Hundreds of participants and bystanders watched as the Torah was jostled by the police.

Hoffman was detained under the pretext that she was not praying according to the traditional customs of the Kotel. She was taken into police custody and interrogated for five hours. Police claim that holding the Sefer Torah is against the Supreme Court ruling. Police are currently consulting with the Attorney General to determine her charges.

Hoffman and her lawyer say that the act of carrying a Torah is not mentioned in the Supreme Court ruling. Women of the Wall stood in solidarity with her outside of the Kishle Police Station near Jaffa Gate. Hoffman was released from police custody and banned from visiting the Kotel for 30 days.

The next day, Hoffman and other Women of the Wall appeared at a Knesset special session on religious intolerance and gender-segregation at the Kotel. There was another incident at the entrance when Hoffman, still wearing her trademark tallis, was told she could not wear it in the parliament building without prior permission. Knesset members Nitzan Horowitz and Shlomo Molla, both advocates for pluralism in Israel, expressed shock after viewing video footage of Hoffman's arrest. They also discussed plans for legislation to end control of the Kotel by the ultra-Orthodox Foundation for Heritage of the Wall.

Women of the Wall have repeatedly clashed with police and the religious authorities who control the Kotel. In November, a group were arrested for wearing talit. A number of the women were wearing talit on this July march, but they were not arrested. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi in charge of the Kotel, has accused the women of provocation and of trying the turn a sacred site into a fighting ground.