The Orthodox Sephardi Shas party is set to propose a law that could make it illegal to hold mixed-gender prayer services at the Western Wall plaza.
The bill, which could face a ministerial vote in the Knesset as early as Sunday, would impose either a six month prison sentence or a $2,600 fine on any woman who reads from the Torah or dons a tallit or phylacteries in the vicinity of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
In a statement, reported in the Israeli media, a Shas spokesman said that the proposed legislation was designed to prevent “religious ceremonies” which “do not fit the custom of the place, which would offend the congregation that prays there”.
The party, which is led by Aryeh Deri MK, who is Israel's Interior Minister, has requested that the bill faces a vote at the Ministerial Committee for Legislation this weekend.
