A stone that fell out of the Western Wall earlier this week and landed near an egalitarian prayer plaza at the holy site was removed from the premises by crane Wednesday. The block, weighing hundreds of pounds, was carried out of the way to an area near the Mughrabi Bridge.
A Western Wall Heritage Foundation official said Wednesday that the stone had been removed to a closed-off area that could not be accessed by the public.
"The stone will be kept there and receive the best care – both in professional terms [as an antiquity] and as a holy object, because the place is considered a holy site," the official said.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation met with experts from the Israel Antiquities Authority a number of times this week to devise the best approach to dealing with the stone. One possibility entailed replacing the stone in the wall.
"The stone can be reaffixed, but there is concern that it won't stay in place because of its weight," the official said. "The stone could be drilled back into place, but that raises problems with Halachah [Jewish law]. The stones of the Western Wall cannot be damaged because of their holiness."
An investigation into the unusual dislodging of a stone revealed that it was just a matter of time before this particular stone came loose.
"The stone bore signs of dust, which means the stone was in the process of detaching. It wasn't a sudden occurrence," the official said.
The Western Wall Heritage Foundation reassured the public that it was safe for worshippers to pray at the wall without concern of falling rocks.
"Twice a year, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Passover, maintenance work is carried out on the stones. They are cleaned – weeds and objects left by birds are removed and engineers check the condition of the stones," authorities stressed.
