 While during the late 19th century , no formal segregation of men and women was to be found at the Wall , conflict erupted in July 1968 when members of the World Union for Progressive Judaism were denied the right to host a mixed @-@ gender service at the site after the Ministry of Religious Affairs insisted on maintaining the gender segregation customary at Orthodox places of worship . The progressives responded by claiming that " the Wall is a shrine of all Jews , not one particular branch of Judaism . " In 1988 , the small but vocal Women of the Wall launched a campaign for recognition of non @-@ Orthodox prayer at the Wall . Their form and manner of prayer elicited a violent response from some Orthodox worshippers and they were subsequently banned from holding services at the site . In response to the repeated arrest of women , including Anat Hoffman found flouting the law , the Jewish Agency observed ' the urgent need to reach a permanent solution and make the Western Wall once again a symbol of unity among the Jewish people , and not one of discord and strife . " Some commentators called for the closure of the site unless an acceptable solution to the controversy was found . In 2003 Israel 's Supreme Court upheld the ban on non @-@ Orthodox worship at the Wall and the government responded by allocating Robinson 's Arch for such purposes . But in 2012 , critics still complained about the restrictions at the Western Wall , saying Israel had " turned a national monument into an ultra @-@ Orthodox synagogue , " and in April 2013 the Jerusalem District Court ruled that as long as there was no other appropriate area for pluralistic prayer , prayer according to non @-@ Orthodox custom should be allowed at the Wall . This led to the expansion and renovation of the Robinson 's Arch prayer area which would be placed under the authority of a Pluralist Council . In August 2013 , a platform named " Azarat Yisrael Plaza " was completed to facilitate non @-@ Orthodox worship . 
