• Israel detains five women for wearing shawls in Western Wall prayer protest

    Baz Ratner / Reuters

    A woman looks at men praying from behind a metal screen at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City on April 11, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to consider liberalizing access to the Western Wall, officials said on Wednesday, citing concern that police-enforced Orthodox controls on women worshipers alienate Jews abroad.

    Michal Fattal / AP

    Israeli women pray at the Western Wall on April 11, 2013. Israeli police have detained five women for performing religious rituals that ultra-Orthodox Jews say are reserved for men. A police spokesman said about 120 woman arrived for their monthly prayer service Thursday and five were detained for wearing prayer shawls.

    By Reuters

    Israeli police detained five women activists on Thursday at the Western Wall, one of Judaism's most sacred sites, for wearing prayer shawls, which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men, a spokesman said.

    The incident occurred during a monthly prayer session by the Women of the Wall, a group opposed to police-enforced Orthodox controls at the Jerusalem holy site, where worshipers are segregated by sex in accordance with strict Jewish tradition.

    On Wednesday, officials said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering a plan to convert an old archaeological dig south of the wall to an area where men and women would be allowed to mix and worship freely. Read the full story.

    Michal Fattal / AP

    A woman is arrested for wearing a prayer shawl at the Western Wall on April 11, 2013.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

    A couple covered with a 'Tallit' (traditional Jewish prayer shawl) pray at the Western Wall on April 11, 2013.

    Michal Fattal / AP

    Women pray at the Western Wall on April 11, 2013.

    Baz Ratner / Reuters

    Police officers detain an ultra-Orthodox Jewish man at the Western Wall on April 11, 2013, after he burned a book belonging to the Women of the Wall, a group opposed to police-enforced Orthodox controls at the Jerusalem holy site.

    Related:

    Controversy over dance studio's curtains illustrates battle for soul of Israeli society

    Gender segregation on the rise in Israel

    Israeli police detained five women activists for wearing prayer shawls at Jerusalem's Western Wall, a practice which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.

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  • Glenn Beck hosts rally in Old City of Jerusalem

    By Rich Shulman

    I guess it wouldn't be reasonable to expect Glenn Beck to go to the Holy Land without stirring the pot.

    As AP reported:

    Beck's unabashedly pro-Israel, anti-Muslim rhetoric has endeared him to some on Israel's far-right. But religious figures and left-wing politicians have come together in an unusual alliance appealing to Israelis to shun his embrace.

    Religious Jews are worried he is here to spread the Christian gospel, while dovish Israelis reject Beck's support for West Bank Jewish settlements and his criticism of peace efforts.

     Full story.

    Conservative Christian radio & television evangelist Glenn Beck hosts a rally near the Western Wall, on August 24 in Jerusalem's Old City, Israel. The event, under the slogan 'Restoring Courage', was attended by hundreds of his evangelical Christian supporters, whilst many who oppose his right-wing views protested outside.

    Ammar Awad / Reuters

    Protesters opposed to U.S. conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck's "Restoring Courage" rally, hold placards during a protest outside the venue of the rally in Jerusalem's Old City August 24. On the fringes of Jerusalem's most volatile holy sites, Beck declared his support for Israel on Wednesday at the rally showcasing fundamentalist Christian backing for the Jewish state. About 30 protesters from the anti-settler group Peace Now were opposed to the rally.

    Uriel Sinai / Getty Images

    Actor Jon Voight attends a rally near the Western Wall of Conservative Christian radio & television evangelist Glenn Beck, on August 24 in Jerusalem's Old City, Israel.

  • Jewish men pray during the mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

    Bernat Armangue / AP

    An Ultra-orthodox Jewish man prays during the mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall.

    Bernat Armangue / AP

    Ultra-orthodox Jewish men pray during the mourning ritual of Tisha B'Av at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. The Jewish holy day of Tisha B'Av, when Jews mourn the destruction of the biblical temples, is marked Tuesday.

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

     Two views of same event, both beautiful, but different and taken by the same photographer.

  • Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP

    A Russian tourist prays at the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem's Old City, on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010.

    Russian tourist prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

    By Mish Whalen

    In a new ruling, Jerusalem's Western Wall has been declared off limits to visitors on the Sabbath, because of security cameras that are blamed for desecrating the the Jews holiest day of the week. See the story from the Jerusalem Post.