Western Wall Event: Rabbi Nebenzal Retracts Protest Letter

Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, chief rabbi of Jerusalem's Old City, has issued a clarification letter requesting that his earlier protest letter not be used, after learning the full facts about a planned event at the Western Wall.

The initial letter had strongly opposed what Rabbi Nebenzahl understood to be a joint Jewish-Christian prayer service at the Western Wall plaza. However, the rabbi was presented with inaccurate information suggesting a "mass Christian prayer" would take place at the holy site. In reality, no Christian prayer service is planned at the plaza. Instead, the event is a live broadcast from the Western Wall designed to connect millions of Christians worldwide in expressing solidarity with the State of Israel and the Jewish people on the anniversary of October 7.

After Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, presented him with complete information about the event, Rabbi Nebenzahl published a new letter stating: "I hereby request that no use be made of the letter I signed, after the facts regarding the event in question were presented to me."

In his clarification, Rabbi Nebenzahl expressed full confidence in the Western Wall rabbi's stewardship of the site. "I rely on Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites, to preserve the remnant of our Holy Temple in sanctity and purity and to uphold religious law," he wrote. "He has done this wisely for many years, preventing desecration of G-d's name and desecration of the holy."

Rabbi Nebenzal also requested that his clarification letter be forwarded to all rabbis who had signed the original protest letter. He concluded his statement with the words: "Love truth and peace."