Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest women seeking equal prayer rights at Western Wall

Thousands of young ultra-Orthodox Jews mobbed Women of the Wall (WOW) activists seeking equal prayer rights at one of Judaism's holiest sites on Friday, leading police to escort the women away from Jerusalem's Western Wall for their own safety.

A police statement said the prayer space in front of the Wall was packed with worshipers marking the start of the new Jewish month, according to the lunar calendar.

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"During the prayers, friction arose between the worshipers, including the Women of the Wall, including curses and various comments," the statement said.

The Women of the Wall (WOW) has spent 30 years fighting for equal rights to pray and read from the Torah at the Western Wall. The group has sparked heated controversy within the Orthodox Jewish establishment that administers the prayer space -- in recent years, by going against religious code by wearing prayer shawls and donning other ritual garb at the Wall.

Some have been arrested under charges of disturbing public order.

The Western Wall in Jerusalem is the holiest site for Jews and the prayer space is under strict rules baring females from leading prayer 

In addition to marking 30 years of demanding changes to regulations preventing women from leading Jewish prayers at the Western Wall, the group also commemorated International Women's Day, an event being recognized around the world in various forms of celebration, protest, and expressions of unity.

“We have been here for 30 years and so we will continue, every month of the year, for good,” Anat Hoffman, head of Women of the Wall, said.

"Thousands of ultra-Orthodox youth violently disrupt @Womenofthewall 30th anniversary prayer service," the group wrote on Twitter.

The group’s 30th anniversary prayer coincides with International Women’s day campaigning this year under the theme of #BalanceforBetter, which is a call-to-action for driving gender balance across the world.

"To maintain public order police separated the two sides and arrested a 20-year-old man after he attempted to attack a policeman," the statement continued.

Haaretz daily quoted the Executive Director of Women of the Wall, Lesley Sacks, describing the scene in the women’s section as a “nightmare”.

“The police failed in their duty. They weren’t even attempting to protect us. There were thousands of young girls kicking and pushing us, and I have bruises all over my body,” Sacks said.

More liberal streams of Judaism, such as the Reform and Conservative movements to which a significant portion of Diaspora Jews belong, have long been at odds with the Israeli government over delays in the creation of a mixed-gender, non-Orthodox prayer section at the Western Wall, where women would also be permitted to pray with scrolls and hold religious ceremonies.