Remodeling Jerusalem's Western Wall
Tasked with restoring calm at the site, the head of the nonprofit Jewish Agency for Israel has proposed increasing the area for Jewish prayer along the wall.

The proposed plan by Natan Sharansky, head of the Jewish Agency, calls for the existing section of the Western Wall to remain the domain of Orthodox Jews. This section maintains gender division, with two-thirds of the wall reserved for men and one-third for women, who worship in silence. Sharansky wants to open a new section of the Western Wall for other streams of Judaism, such as the Reform and Conservative movements. Here, men and women would pray together, sing and play music, and women could wear prayer shawls.
Dome
of the Rock
al-Aqsa
mosque
Western Wall
Sharansky envisions erecting a raised platform above the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, where there would be prayer above and tourists below.
Mughrabi Gate
Non-Orthodox
Jerusalem Archaeological Park
Western Wall plaza
Mughrabi Bridge: Connects plaza of Western Wall to the Noble Sanctuary, or Temple Mount. Under the plan, the ramp would serve as a barrier between the orthodox and non-orthodox sections of the wall.
SOURCE: Staff reports; thekotel.org. 2008 photo by Assaf Shtilman via Wikimedia Commons; Graphic: The Washington Post Published May 22, 2013.