Sarah Silverman's sister was detained along with 9 other women in Israel. On Feb. 11, ABC News reported that the women were wearing "religious garb that Orthodox Judaism reserves for men only." The comedian's sister is known for her religious nature. She is actually a rabbi and was in Israel on a religious expedition.
The women were arrested when "trying to pray at a Jerusalem holy site." Susan Silverman and her daughter were held "because they acted against court-ordered regulations that bar women from wearing prayer shawls at the Western Wall so as not to offend Orthodox Jewish worshippers," ABC News reported.
Sarah Silverman's sister and her daughter were released after "several hours." According to Anat Hoffman, the group's chair and another woman that was detained, says that these arrests have become more frequent but no woman has ever been charged with anything. She says that this is a sort of scare tactic that is meant to stop the women from coming to the Western Wall (one of Judaism's holiest sites) to pray.
The women involved in these groups have certain rituals that conflict with the beliefs of Orthodox interpretations of Judaism. Some of their action are considered disrespectful and even sacrilegious to others.
Sarah Silverman's sister and the other women were presumably not harmed.
© Effie Orfanides 2013
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