Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch has apologized to Linda Siegel-Richman, an American Jewish woman who was barred from approaching the Kotel because she was wearing a kippa. The apology came after Rabbi Rabinovich received a protest letter from NIF grantee Women of the Wall.
Women of the Wall said it was outraged by the incident and harshly criticized Kotel officials for threatening to arrest Siegel-Richman. It also criticized the Orthodox Western Wall Heritage Foundation for ignoring a court ruling that allows pluralistic Jewish worship at the Western Wall.
Segal-Richman, from Colorado, is in Israel on a Conservative Movement yeshiva study program.