The Western Wall is sacred to Jews because it is one of the few parts left standing after the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. The Eastern Wall and the Southern Wall also partially survived the Roman attack, but the Western Wall is closer to the Sancto Sanctorum or Holy Sanctuary (), the most sacred sector of the Temple that could only be accessed by the High Priest once a year. Unlike the East Wall and the South Wall, the Western Wall became the traditional place of prayer.

For decades, men and women have had separate areas to access the Wall (although the latter in a smaller enclosure and with different prayer conditions, despite a first equality with men achieved in 2013 by court ruling).[5]​ In 2016, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu—under pressure from reformist women's groups—agreed to assign mixed places for prayer but with access located outside the square.[6]​ In June In 2017, in the face of what was interpreted as "pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties", the Government decided to suspend the execution of said plan,[7]​ although women's groups continue to demand an area for mixed prayer in the face of opposition from the rabbinic orthodoxy in charge of controlling the premises.[8]​.

In front of him the destruction of the city and the dispersion of the Hebrew people are commonly lamented, with Friday being a day of special intensity. The tradition of inserting a small paper with a prayer between the cracks in the wall is several centuries old. Jewish prayers include fervent supplications to God to return to the land of Israel, the return of all Jewish exiles, the rebuilding of the temple (the third), and the arrival of the messianic era with the coming of the Jewish messiah.

The Western Wall is sacred to Jews because it is one of the few parts left standing after the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. The Eastern Wall and the Southern Wall also partially survived the Roman attack, but the Western Wall is closer to the Sancto Sanctorum or Holy Sanctuary (), the most sacred sector of the Temple that could only be accessed by the High Priest once a year. Unlike the East Wall and the South Wall, the Western Wall became the traditional place of prayer.

For decades, men and women have had separate areas to access the Wall (although the latter in a smaller enclosure and with different prayer conditions, despite a first equality with men achieved in 2013 by court ruling).[5]​ In 2016, the government of Benjamin Netanyahu—under pressure from reformist women's groups—agreed to assign mixed places for prayer but with access located outside the square.[6]​ In June In 2017, in the face of what was interpreted as "pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties", the Government decided to suspend the execution of said plan,[7]​ although women's groups continue to demand an area for mixed prayer in the face of opposition from the rabbinic orthodoxy in charge of controlling the premises.[8]​.