Women of the Wall leader detained at Western Wall for smuggling in Torah scroll
Lesley Sachs, the Executive Director of the Women of the Wall prayer rights organization, was detained this morning (Tuesday) at the Western Wall for bringing a Torah scroll into the site, which is against regulations, and reading from it.
According to WOW, Sachs was detained for questioning by the police on Tuesday for a breach of the public order which the police said was for smuggling the Torah into the women’s section.
Women participating in the Women of the Wall prayer group were in the past routinely arrested for wearing prayer shawls and tefillin at the Western Wall, acts which were deemed to be in contravention of the local custom practiced at the site and injurious to the sensitivities of other worshippers.