the Kotel
a place of prayer
of unity
of connecting with our past
of touching history
July, 1967 I touched it
it touched me – oh the awe!
December, 1973 my aliyah to the Holy Land
in recent years with each return visit to the Kotel
the women’s section – diminished
October, 2012 women again arrested – at the
Kotel – for reciting the Shema!
woe be me!
beyond our reach for so many years and now
when in the hands of Israel, a shrine
to the Dark Ages
what has become of tolerance
mutual respect? wherein do they
usurp my spirituality, my religion,
my God?
bodes evil for the future of this unholy land
Ahmadinejad a threat? hah! home grown
Khomeneism is at our doorstep
no! no! no!
Edit Gavriely, Haifa
October 18,2012