The accessibility of the Western Wall in Jerusalem has been a longstanding issue, with one Israeli-American businessman, at the forefront of efforts to address it. Despite decades of advocacy and significant donations, the bureaucratic hurdles have prevented the realization of a simple solution to make this holy site accessible to all.
Baruch Klein, a 75-year-old Israeli-American businessman, has faced a personal struggle each year to reach the Kotel for the traditional Birkat Kohanim (blessing of the priests) ceremony on Sukkot. His disability, stemming from a fall in a New York building in 1994, has made this journey challenging. However, his determination to make the Kotel accessible for all visitors has not waned.
Klein’s determination remains unshaken.
“It’s inconceivable that at the holiest and most visited site in Israel, there is no elevator or escalator to accommodate thousands of visitors every day,” Klein stressed. “Why should I take a long and exhausting route or give up praying at the Kotel?” he asked.
Klein is not alone in facing these challenges. During the Sukkot holiday, thousands of visitors, including elderly individuals, disabled individuals, and young parents with strollers, make their way to the Kotel in the Jewish Quarter. Unfortunately, many of them struggle to access the site due to the lack of proper infrastructure, narrow streets and bumpy sidewalks.
The fight for disability rights
Klein told The Jerusalem Post of his advocacy, which began in the late ’90s when he purchased a home in the Jewish Quarter. He noticed the absence of an elevator or escalator connecting the Jewish Quarter to the Kotel plaza, a situation that posed significant challenges for accessibility. He embarked on a mission to change this situation for good.
Over the years, Klein met with various dignitaries, including Jerusalem mayors such as former mayor Ehud Olmert, engineers, city officials, members of Knesset, and ministers, all in a bid to influence change. He shared that he even enlisted the help of an engineer who had worked on escalators in Hong Kong to prepare a plan. Klein claimed to have donated $4 million to support this initiative.
“The process halted after I was asked by a senior city official, who was later convicted of crimes, to deposit a million dollars in the city’s bank account for a maintenance fund for “ongoing repairs.”
Klein was born in Hungary in 1948 to Holocaust survivors who lost three children in the Holocaust. His family immigrated to Israel when he was a year old. Although he studied at a yeshiva track, he enlisted in a combat IDF unit and fought on the Golan Heights against the Syrians during the Six Day War.
In 1970, he moved to the United States, where his family also immigrated, and he made his fortune in women’s religious clothing businesses. After deciding to purchase a home in the Old City in the late ’90s, he noticed the lack of an elevator or escalator connecting the Jewish Quarter to the Kotel – and vice versa. He began meeting with a series of dignitaries.
In an upcoming book detailing his efforts, Klein and others point to the Israeli bureaucracy as a significant hindrance to progress. Despite a government decision on the matter in 2017, which allocated a budget of NIS 50 million over the years 2017-2019 for the project, work on making the Kotel accessible has been slow, with completion not expected for at least another two years.
“I come to Israel twice a year, then I try to inquire, meet and make a difference. Unfortunately, things are progressing very slowly. Twenty years ago, I started, as a regular citizen, dealing with this issue, and the Kotel is still inaccessible to people with disabilities, the elderly, and parents with strollers. It’s frustrating, but I’m not giving up,” Klein told the Post.
According to him, “It’s inconceivable that on the holiest site, which is also the most visited site in Israel, there is no elevator or escalator to make it accessible to thousands of visitors every day. Why should I take a long and exhausting route or give up praying at the Kotel?” he wonders.
According to Klein, the situation is even more frustrating given recent archaeological discoveries. During excavations for the project, a water source was found that stretches from the southern part of Jerusalem to Temple Mount.
The Jewish Quarter Reconstruction and Development Company, CEO Herzl Ben-Ari, responded to Klein’s claims. Ben Ari began by stating that “unfortunately, the details that have been mentioned in the article are not accurate.”
According to Ben Ari, the draft proposal was submitted by The Jewish Quarter Reconstruction and Development Company.
“Thank God, we managed to secure budgets from government ministries and from private entities. The location of the elevator lies within a historical channel full of archaeology and we are progressing alongside a significant challenge.” He added that “there’s no bureaucracy in this situation, that doesn’t exist anywhere else.”
He further explained that due to the excavations, important historical findings were discovered. “I believe that together with the Antiquities Authority, we can find solutions to these complex situations, move past the excavation stage, and proceed with the work,” Ben-Ari said.
“Thank God, there’s no way that a Jew who wants to visit the Kotel won’t be able to. There are slightly more complex solutions,” he said.
“Once the elevator construction is completed, accessibility will be much easier and simpler for everyone,” Ben-Ari concluded.
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