In July 2018, a massive stone weighing about 100 kg broke loose from the Western Wall and crashed onto a wooden platform used for egalitarian prayer. It was a miracle that nobody was hurt or killed.
Understandably, the city immediately closed the platform, which provided the only direct access to the Kotel itself for Jews participating in egalitarian prayer services. While the Azarat Yisrael platform remains open for egalitarian prayer in the southern section of the Western Wall, it is located a few meters back from the Wall itself.
The problem is that eight years later, the platform adjacent to the Kotel remains closed. The Israel Antiquities Authority determined as early as 2020, and again in 2021, that the area was safe, yet the government refused to complete the necessary repairs. In February of this year, the High Court of Justice finally intervened, ordering the government and Jerusalem Municipality to advance the work.
Think about that for a moment. Israel, a country that develops some of the world's most sophisticated technology, cannot repair a small wooden platform at the Western Wall.
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