The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall or the Kotel, is a portion of ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem that forms part of the larger retaining wall of the hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount. It is the last remaining outer wall of the ancient Jewish temple and is the holiest site in Judaism. The Western Wall plays an important role in Judaism due to its proximity to the Temple Mount. Because of the Temple Mount entry restrictions, the Wall is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray outside the previous Temple Mount platform, as the presumed site of the Holy of Holies, the most sacred site in the Jewish faith, lies just behind it. The Western Wall is also an incredibly important site of modern Israeli history and is the location of various ceremonies in Israel. Thousands of people of all faiths journey to the wall every year to visit and recite prayers. Traditionally, these prayers are either spoken or written down and placed in the cracks of the wall. The wall splits into two sections, one area for males and the other for females.
The Western Wall is a retaining wall of the Temple Mount compound. During the Second Temple period, a commercial street ran alongside it, featuring stores that offered goods to the many pilgrims who made the trip to the Temple. The authenticity of the Western Wall has been confirmed by tradition, history, and archaeological research; the wall dates from about the 2nd century BCE, though its upper sections were added at a later date.
After the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the War of Independence, the eastern portion of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, came under Jordanian rule and Jews were unable to pray there. But during the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel reunified the city and recaptured the wall. Since then, Israel greatly expanded the area for prayer at the wall and the surrounding plaza, but the site has been a consistent source of controversy. Violence has broken out there over the years, with Muslim worshippers occasionally hurling rocks and other projectiles from the mount above on Jewish worshippers below. Jewish groups have also contested the site, sometimes violently.
