From Odyssey Networks’ Faith on the Record series: Religious freedom is in the news again, as Israelis rebel against rules about where and how women can pray. This week, some at the Western Wall in Jerusalem reacted violently when members of the advocacy group Women of the Wall defied traditional (gender-based) restrictions on public expressions of faith. An angry riot reportedly ensued among the ultra-Orthodox witnesses, and I thought about this: “Why would people behave that way? What was going on? Where does love of your fellow Jew, also a tradition, factor into their thinking?” Watch my video below for more insight and discussion.
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Image credit: Women of the Wall/YouTube
Brad Hirschfield is the co-founder and co-executive editor of The Wisdom Daily. A rabbi, Brad has been featured on ABC’s Nightline UpClose, PBS’s Frontline, Fox News and National Public Radio. He wrote a long-standing column, “For God’s Sake,” for the Washington Post, and has also written for The Huffington Post and Beliefnet.com. He authored the book, You Don?t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. Brad also serves as President of Clal, The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a leadership training institute, think tank and resource center in New York City.