The Women of the Wall say they have the right to pray out loud at the holy site
The Western Wall - a relic of the Biblical Temple compound - currently has separate sections where men and women are allowed to pray.
For several months, a group of women, dubbed the Women of the Wall, have held prayers in the female side, wearing traditional shawls and reading aloud from the Torah.
'LIBERATED THE WALL'
This has sparked outrage and protests from Orthodox groups, who say women should not perform the rituals.
On 11 April, five of the women were arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. A lower court had dismissed the charges and the women were freed, but the police appealed against this.
But on Thursday, Judge Moshe Sobel rejected the appeal, saying that the 2003 "did not ban the Women of the Wall from praying in any particular place" and that there was no "reasonable suspicion" that the women had broken laws relating to holy sites, Haaretz news agency reports.
He said police concerns that the women's actions could create a public disturbance was not grounds for arrest, as they had shown no signs of violence or being a security threat themselves.
Anat Hoffman, who chairs the women's group, said the ruling had "liberated the Western Wall for all Jewish people".
"We did it for the great diversity of Jews in the world, all of whom deserve to pray according to their belief and custom at the Western Wall," Haaretz quoted her as saying.
There was no immediate comment from police.
Correspondents say the dispute over the wall has become a symbol of the greater tensions in Israeli society between ultra-Orthodox Jews who abide by a very strict interpretation of Jewish law, and more modern Jewry.
".. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, LISTS OF DOS AND DON'TS, AND MANY RULES STILL BASED ON CULTURES THAT ARE CENTURIES OLD. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE? "
"SOME ISRAELIS QUESTION BENEFITS FOR ULTRA-RELIGIOUS"
"
The ultra-Orthodox make up 10 percent of Israel's population"
" of 7.5 million, "but are increasing rapidly amid a growing backlash "
"to the privileges and "subsidies long granted to the ultra-religious."
"(RINA CASTELNUOVO FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES")"
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