LINDA SIEGEL-Richman, the anonymous Linda detained July 5 by two uniformed guards for wearing a kipah at the Western Wall, returned home to Denver jetlagged and besieged by global media on July 9.
I had no intention of causing a furor, Siegel-Richman told the Intermountain Jewish News Friday as her phone rings incessantly. I lived in Israel a long time. It was a fast day. Im aware that many men dislike seeing women wear a kipah.
I made an unfortunate mistake, even though its my legal right to wear a kipah at the Kotel, she says. I was in a hurry and forgot to remove it. If I had thought about it, I would have realized the chances were good that I might set the scene for a confrontation.
Siegel-Richman, a private, soft-spoken woman, says its not her style to pursue public altercations or controversy. Anyone who knows me can tell you that.
But the July 5 incident, which has elicited a storm of protest as well as sympathetic letters from Orthodox rabbis and individuals, hit her like lightning.
That day, Siegel-Richman rushed to the Kotel between classes at the Conservative Yeshiva, where she was concluding three weeks of study, to place prayers from Denver Jewish Day School students at the Wall.
I was scheduled to leave Jerusalem in two days and needed to deliver the students notes. I took a taxi and rushed to the Kotel with my kipah on my head.
She went through the checkpoint at the main entrance to the Wall. Guards searched her bags and let her inside.
No one said anything to me, she says.
After slipping the notes in the Wall, Siegel-Richman lingered for a while, faced the Kotel as she left out of respect and went through the plaza.
No one said anything to me.
Thirsty, she walked to the Cardo for some water but used a different entrance to the plaza upon her return.
I had to pass through another checkpoint manned by two uniformed young men, she says. They looked through my bag, and at me, and said I was inappropriately dressed.
The guards said You cant be here and started questioning me, Siegel-Richman recalls. Whats your name, where are you from, why are you wearing a kipah, what kind of trouble are you going to cause? They were really upset.
The men clearly thought I was in the wrong and they were in the right. I said that I had to return to my class at the yeshiva. They said, You cant do that, we wont allow it.
Soon the police joined them.
They talked among themselves in fluent Hebrew that was way beyond my capacity, she says. Although I knew my rights under the law, I also knew they had the authority to arrest me.
Frightened and trapped, she hurled a strongly worded threat: If you dont call the American ambassador, Ill cause an international incident like youve never seen before.
Siegel-Richman says her admittedly provocative challenge was an attempt to defuse the situation. It was the only thing I could think of to make it stop.
She was released, escorted to a taxi stand and driven to the Conservative Yeshiva.
But instead of melting into a footnote, the episode gained traction via the Internet, Ynet, Israeli and American newspapers.
IN MAY, 2013, Jerusalem District Court Judge Moshe Sobel overturned the 2003 Israeli Supreme Court decision banning women from wearing traditional religious garb and holding services at the Kotel.
Siegel-Richman, a Conservative Jew who is rarely without her kipah and attends Rodef Shalom in East Denver, belongs to Women of the Wall, largely responsible for securing these freedoms.
Ive gone to the Kotel before with Women of the Wall, she says. Ive demonstrated with them. But I would never in my life go to the Kotel to create some sort of disturbance.
When Siegel-Richman spoke to her daughter Aylana Siegel-Richman about what happened, Aylana notified a close friend in charge of communications for the Masorti [Conservative] Movement in Israel.
Her friend said, We need to get this in the press, she says. I wasnt ready to do that, but she put it on the Internet. Within hours, it was everywhere. Thats how the story spread so quickly. Then Ynet interviewed me and it just kept going on and on.
JTAs report on the incident, which the IJN ran July 10, highlighted the apology offered by the Kotel Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich.
In Rabinovichs statement issued July 7, the rabbi apologized that a woman had been turned away from the Western Wall but said he was not familiar with the incident, nor were the police.
If there was an incident of this kind, Western Wall officials were wrong to prevent Linda from entering, he wrote.
The Western Wall is open to all men and women. I give my sincere apologies and the apologies of my staff to Linda and hope you will return soon to visit the Western Wall.
On Monday, a day prior to the apology, Women of the Wall expressed their outrage over the episode under the heading Breaking News on its Facebook page.
Commenting on previous encounters, Rabinovich expressed his regret over the atmosphere of suspicion and distrust at the Kotel resulting from the struggles of the Women of the Wall; an atmosphere that is harming many worshippers, Linda among them.
He also said that he hoped the imbroglio wasnt just another media event with no truth behind it.
Siegel-Richman initially tells the IJN she believes Rabinovichs apology was sincere. But it was a bit odd, she adds, citing his remark that this might be another baseless media ploy.
Actually, I think it was a really backhanded apology, she qualifies. With so much trouble at the Wall, it wouldnt have hurt him to say, Were terribly sorry it happened especially if you know me and that I would have never done this for attention. Its not my style.
AS SOON as the news broke and Linda acquired a last name, the Denverite has received countless supportive letters and emails from friends and sympathetic Orthodox rabbis in Israel and across the US.
Everyone feels terrible, she says. Orthodox rabbis from all over the world have sent me lovely letters and they are very sincere.
Her attitude toward the guards who stopped her at the Kotel is more compassionate than condemning.
I feel badly for those young men, she says. Clearly they were in over their heads and didnt know what they were doing.
Siegel-Richman, a staunch advocate of womens legal rights at the Western Wall, acknowledges its still a volatile issue.
Women have the right to wear a kipah, a tallit, tefilin, and pray, she emphasizes. As a result of my experience, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made a concerted effort to reaffirm our rights.
The timing was right not for me but for the government to make a point about this.
Siegel-Richman cautions that women wearing ritual garments at the Wall should expect pushback from the other side.
Theres a possibility that people will stop you and ask you a lot of questions. That option certainly exists.
Women are free to don ritual accessories, she repeats. And if thats what you want you should do it but not just to make a point. Thats just how I am.
Siegel-Richman offers a conciliatory yet realistic assessment of the countrys current divisiveness. People are walking fine lines in Israel, and I understand, she says. I really do understand.
I hope the most important thing that results from this is for Western Wall authorities to educate the guards. Regardless of belief, guards must protect us including women wearing kipot.
Andrea Jacobs may be reached at andrea@ijn.com.
Copyright © 2015 by the Intermountain Jewish News
