Little Western Wall

Dimensions

Unlike the more famous Western Wall, the Kotel Katan does not have a large plaza facing it. In this way it resembles the situation of the Wailing Wall as it appeared before the Six-Day War of 1967, before the Moroccan Quarter was razed and the Western Wall Plaza added. The Kotel Katan has a narrow alley, and only the two lowest courses (rows of building stones) date from the Second Temple period. Unlike those on the Western Wall, the stones have not been worn smooth by the touch of millions of worshippers.

History

The passage alongside the wall is ar, the hosh (courtyard) of ar (ar), a ribat (hospice) for Muslim pilgrims founded in 1293 or 1296 by ar, a mamluk of Sultan Qalāwūn.

Because the Kotel Katan is much closer to the site of the possible location of the Holy of Holies than the larger Western Wall, it has significance to Jews, who wish to continue to pray at the site.

1971 tunnelling damage

In late 1971, extensive tunnelling along the wall by the Israeli Department of Religious Affairs caused the partial collapse of ar. The Department sought to take advantage of the situation by demolishing the 670-year-old structure to create a new plaza, but backed off after an international outcry.

In the news

In October 2011, a group called Kotleinu ("our wall") and another group known as petitioned the government to include the Katan as part of the Law for the Protection of Holy Places as it is recognized as part of the Western Wall. The groups advocate for cleanup and the placement of benches, prayer books and an ark for the Torah be permanently placed at the site.

On Rosh Hashana in 2006, a young Jewish boy was arrested for blowing a shofar (ceremonial horn instrument) while at the wall. The Muslim occupants of the area complained to the police for the breach of the peace and the police warned the boy to stop blowing the shofar in that area and instead invited him to do so at the main area of the Kotel in the Western Wall Plaza. The boy refused to obey the order of the police and continued to blow the shofar at the Kotel Katan. The police arrested the boy and seized his shofar. They let him go after three hours of questioning, keeping the shofar. He was admonished not to visit the area for 15 days. The boy later sued the police for wrongful arrest and theft of the shofar. In 2012, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ruled against the boy and in favor of the police on both issues, determining that the actions of the police were "legitimate".

References

References

1. "Jewish Quarter Jerusalem - Kotel HaKatan".
2. "HaKotel HaKatan - Yeshivat Ateret Kohanim".
3. "The New York Times > Travel > Slide Show > Jerusalem, Now".
4. "Madrasa al-Khatuniyya | Courtyard, east side".
5. (30 April 2007). "Campaign to Upgrade the Old City's 'Small Wall' - Jewish World".
6. M. H. Burgoyne. (1973). "The Continued Survey of the Ribāt Kurd/Madrasa Jawhariyya Complex in Ṭarīq Bāb Al-Ḥadīd, Jerusalem". Levant.
7. "Activists demand 'Kotel Hakatan' be renovated".
8. "Court outlaws shofar blowing at Kotel Hakatan".