JERUSALEM (AP) - A liberal women's group held a special Passover prayer service on Sunday at a Jerusalem holy site, drawing criticism from the site's ultra-Orthodox rabbi, who called it a "provocation."
The group, Women of the Wall, calls for gender equality at the Western Wall, the holiest Jewish prayer site. The site is overseen by a rabbi who enforces conservative customs, including separate prayers for men and women.
The group planned to hold an all-female "priestly blessing," a prayer typically done by men, but Israel's attorney general banned it from doing so. The Justice Ministry said a women-led priestly blessing has never been held at the Western Wall.
In a compromise, dozens of women prayed Sunday, but a group leader said they did not perform the priestly blessing. Some Orthodox Jews protested.