Stanek weekend question: Should “Wailing Wall” be part of pro-life memorial?
Pro-lifers compare the pro-abortion view of preborn children as nonpersons to the pro-slavery view of blacks as nonpersons (well, 3/5).
We also call the modern genocide of preborn children a “holocaust,” comparing it to Hitler’s mass extermination of the Jews.
Understandably, the other side doesn’t like those comparisons.
But now comes word that the planned International Pro-Life Memorial & National Life Center in Wichita, Kansas, will include a Wailing Wall, “an exact replica of the Western Wall at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem,” according to the website.
There will be 60 crosses in front of the wall to represent one million children killed by abortion each. “This will be a pace of repentance, mediation, and healing,” add planners.
I’m not sure this memorial will ever be built, or that Wichita is the right place for such a memorial, but nevertheless, is adding a Wailing Wall going too far? Is it right to co-opt a sacred Jewish site? The Anti-Defamation League writes:
“Over the years we have seen a number of anti-abortion groups compare abortion to the Holocaust, but this takes the misuse of Jewish symbolism and history to another level,” Abraham Foxman, ADL’s national director, said in a statement issued Monday. “The Western Wall, this monumental symbol of Jewish grief and redemption is being co-opted and distorted to promote an anti-abortion agenda and message. Members of the pro-life movement are entitled to their opinions, but we wish they would not express them at the expense of Judaism’s holiest site and the Holocaust.”
What do you think?
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
I am 100% for it, albeit not sure Wichitaw is the right place either, The wall in Jerusalem represents their holocaust, and the wall for the millions of aborted babies is for their remembrance lest they ever be forgotten, Abraham Foxman nor the Jewish faith should find that offensive. They especially should understand the desire for such a wall.
OK.. perhaps it is just an instance of innocent ignorance but the Western Wall IS NOT a holocaust memorial. It is a standing wall from the actual Temple, it is a historical and sacred piece of architecture. It is not a memorial, museum, or shrine. This is highly inappropriate.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/wallname.html
I don’t see the need to use other symbols for the cause, when the cause is just, it doesn’t need to attach itself to anything else. If a memorial for the cause imitates something else already in existence, how authentic is that new memorial?
Each memorial site must stand alone to remind us of that particular matter which is being remembered. I have never been to Israel, but I know well what the Wailing Wall looks like, having seen it hundreds of times by photographic image and video.
Pro-life doesn’t need to replicate the Jewish Wailing Wall. There is enough sorrow and enough repentance to spark creative thoughts and visions to erect something truly unique for the cause.
No, it should not. Abortion is a holocaust, not the Holocaust. There are many similarities between the two (hence the oft-repeated analogy) but co-opting the Wailing Wall for pro-life purposes seems seriously wrong to me.
The ‘memorial’ should be built in a place called Ramah and they should name it Rachel’s Wall.
Jer 31:15 Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. [Matt 2:18.] AMP
There should be statues of two female witnesses looking on and they should called Shiphra and Puah.
Ex 1:15-17, 20-21 15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom one was named Shiprah and the other Puah,
16 When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded, but let the male babies live.
20 So God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and became very strong.
21 And because the midwives revered and feared God, He made them households [of their own].AMP
I see nothing wrong with a wailing wall at this site. Many women regret their abortion and need someplace to express their emotions. Also, 2 out of 3 women who have abortions were coerced into it, this could be a place where these women find the solace and peace that they need.
I agree with Angi MacAllister. I like this idea in principle, but an exact copy of the Wailing Wall, to me, is not good. Certainly there is nothing wrong with using that as a guide or a model, but the Abortion holocaust and the Jewish holocaust occupy different places in history and should be considered for their differences as well as their similarities. And the memorials to the unborn should reflect this. The tragedy of abortion and its victims is, as Lrning says, like many others in history. But it is not identical to them. Its victims deserve a unique memorial for their unique suffering. As do the victims of the Holocaust of WWII.
I think the issue is calling it a “Wailing Wall,” because there is only one of those and it is in Isreal. But the idea of a memorial wall, well that is used all the time. The Vietnam War Memorial, The Korean Wall Memorial, the Wall of Stars WWII Memorial. All commerate the death of someone. If they want to build a wall to commemorate those murdered in abortion it should be called The Wall of Innocents. Or it doesn’t have to be a wall, it can be another piece of architecture, a tomb of innocents, etc. But The Wailing Wall, well, that IS Jewish.
I like the idea of some sort of memorial wall, like the Viet Nam memorial wall. Perhaps a wall with dates listed on it, starting from January 22, 1973. Women can touch the dates of their abortions and mourn the loss of their little ones. Important dates in the battle for Life can be noted along the way.
I cannot imagine copying the sacred Jewish Western Wall of the Temple for a memorial to victims of abortion. This idea betrays a lack of understanding as to what the Western Wall means to Jews worldwide, to apostolic Christians worldwide, and to American Evangelicals.
If we want to remember the holocaust of abortion, we should preserve an actual abortion clinic — just like Dachau and Auschwitz are preserved. We should plan to buy and maintain Planned Parenthood’s abortion-mall in Houston.
A memorial is a GREAT IDEA! A duplicate Wailing Wall is doomed to failure. It MUST be unique. Abortion is but a small (important) part of pro-life. In future decades, euthanasia will engage everyone!
I didn’t know people could only go to a temple wall and wail for victims of the Holocaust. Wailing in anguish of children murdered in their mother’s womb is appropriate anywhere.
While we DO compare The Holocaust to the Abortion holocaust, I think they should be two SEPERATE memorials. There is only ONE “Wailing Wall”…
As it should be. I think it’s disrespectful to the Jewish people (as a whole) to call anything else a “wailing wall”. That is theirs, and theirs alone.
Just as it would be disrespectful to (us) Native Americans to call something else “The Trail Of Tears”. JMO.
The 3/5 compromise was an ANTI-slavery maneuver. The pro-slavery side wanted slaves to count as “1” person for purposes of representation so that the South would have more political power. The North, anti-slavery side actually wanted slaves to count as “0” people. It’s all explained in the linked article. As for the memorial, pro-aborts will complain no matter what so it really makes no difference.
I agree that there should be no Wailing Wall at this site. There is only one Wailing Wall, and as Tova pointed out there is a separate museum and places to honor those lost in the Holocaust.
I was at the Wailing Wall in Israel, and it is a sacred site. This pro-life initiative is misguided – and I do like the other ideas here about a memorial, but not using or defaming the Wailing Wall.
I hope that whoever is planning this, that they get better information and do this in a way that unites instead of divides. It needs to be a place of healing for all people.
OK.. perhaps it is just an instance of innocent ignorance but the Western Wall IS NOT a holocaust memorial. It is a standing wall from the actual Temple, it is a historical and sacred piece of architecture. It is not a memorial, museum, or shrine. This is highly inappropriate.
Yeah, I thought the same thing. The Wailing Wall has nothing to do with the Holocaust.
And we should know, as Tova pointed out, isthat it is the Western Wall.
I think it’s weird to appropriate iconic, historic architecture from another tradition.
Is the creativity so low among pro-lifers that we can’t come up with something original?
C’mon.
This doesn’t make sense at all. This one is definitely in the “what were they thinking?” dept.
“Is the creativity so low among pro-lifers that we can’t come up with something original?”
In a word: yes.
Del says:
July 28, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I like the idea of some sort of memorial wall, like the Viet Nam memorial wall. Perhaps a wall with dates listed on it, starting from January 22, 1973.
(Denise) What about the abortions of Lillian Hellman, Barabara Tuchman, Marilyn Monroe (one biographer reports 13!), Anais Nin, Jacqueline Smith, Barbara LoFrumento, and Lee Grant? What about the pre-1973 abortions of Whoopi Goldberg, Polly Bergin, Margot Kidder and many others?
Abortion didn’t start with a Supreme Court decision. It started with girls and women being unwilling or unable to carry to term. That was WAAAAYY before the 1970s.
There is no copyright on grief, therefore the term “wailing wall” is fine to use.
It would be a good idea to come up with a new design or perhaps a design incorporating elements of many other memorials. Who needs a replica?
I admire this Memorial that names the dead from all sides in the battle of Okinawa. Heiwa no Ishiji, (Cornerstone of Peace). It’s more of a universal grief memorial.
The odd thing is how some people protect their grief turf, and also how one kind of purposeful killing is considered OK, but another is not. How do some people claim moral authority over life and death?
To the pro-abortion Jewish groups decrying the use of their memorial idea: Is the grief of a killer sacred?
If you want to start emulating other sacred shrines, how about a huge blank wall of granite? It will be like the Vietnam War memorial, but since these victims were never born, only God knows their names.
And I think Wichita, being the former late-term abortion capital of the US, is the perfect place.
A pro-life memorial center erected largely by Christians shows a stunning ignorance of their own faith if it contains a replica of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Jesus foretold the destruction of the Temple, and Saint Paul is clear that the Blood of Christ is the symbol of the New Covenant. The old Temple with its animal sacrifice for remission of sin became an anachronism in the age of the New Covenant. In the Divine Economy, its time had passed.
It’s perfectly understandable that Jews who do not recognize Jesus as Messiah would wail at the wall, the last remnant of ancient Judaism’s Priestly sacrifice for the remission of sin. For Christians to appropriate this and somehow relate it to abortion does injustice to our Jewish brothers and sisters, the sacrificial blood of Jesus, and the memories of the unborn it is meant to call to mind.
It would be more appropriate to inter the remains of several aborted babies in an interfaith chapel and light an eternal flame. Such a memorial should also be less of a macabre museum of abortion and more of a dynamic center for ongoing medical, scientific and pastoral conferences and workshops where people would have a place to advance the Culture of Life.
A wailing wall is about looking backward at loss and even becoming trapped and paralyzed in one’s grief and remembrance. This center needs a chapel where we may commune in prayer with the tiniest of victims, seek solace and healing in that blessed, prayerful communion, and gain strength and inspiration for moving forward. We won’t get there with another Las Vegas styled American mock-up of authentic archeological and cultural treasures from around the world. We certainly won’t get there by picking a fight with our Jewish brothers and sisters.
Our memorial needs to be authentic as well as functional.
The memorial to the unborn in Tennessee has a memorial wall. I think a replica of the wailing wall is highly inappropriate and will cause offense needlessly.
“A” wailing wall is a great idea. I won’t presume judgement till I saw how they integrated the entire exhibit but I see no need to use a replica of “The” wailing wall.
I like Del’s idea of a wall like the Vietnam memorial.
As far as Jewish people who don’t like Holocaust comparisons: If you don’t like it, why aren’t you helping end this one?? If you think the Messiah is yet to come, why do you encourage women to abort? Disconnect.
I like this
http://www.memorialfortheunborn.org/Portals/0/NMU_ministry.pdf
The wall of names is completely appropriate for those that have named their children. Sorry Julia but many of us have named our aborted children.
Whether it is an exact replica of The Wailing Wall or not there will be wailing there. There will be grief expressed. There will be pain and tears and healing going on.
Maybe you should let those that are post abortive decide. They will be honoring their loved ones there.
My two cents.
Exactly Ninek!!
I do not think that the replica of the Jewish wailing wall is at all appropriate! A memorial, a place to grieve – surely. But the best way to end this contention is apologize for the offense, and then engage in thoughtful conversation and let them see what we do instead to honor both parties.
Additionally, maybe I am missing something… why such a large structure? It seems the money is direly needed for ministries like post-abortion retreats, Created Equal traveling GAP project, maternity homes, etc. Maybe a more simple memorial?
Via Twitter: ”YES” 1st-God supports memorials. 2nd-memorials to lives killed “speak” their truth. 3rd-memorials teach the young-Never Forget!
Via Twitter: YES-Never Forget! Holocaust of millions of babies and wailing wall of Jerusalem are NOT exclusive to the Jewish nation.
Via Twitter: YES: Never Forget! Many who claim Judaism and other faiths justify abortion: the basis for many objections is pro-abortion.
Abortion has taken the lives of more human beings than anything ever.
Hence the size of the memorial.
Makes it hard to ignore the impact of the holocaust of worldwide abortion and the toll it has taken.
I do think we can be more creative than copying The Wailing Wall btw.
Why would the organizers build in such an obvious controversy? Good judgment is key to the memorial and it doesn’t seem they’re off to a good start. The idea is a bad one.
I think they should do a chapel like Dr Gerard said and have an eternal flame.
I am not sure that it would be appropriate for a replica of a Jewish holy site to be put at this site.
From a Jewish women’s website:
“this is yet another example of Jewish culture, symbols and suffering being appropriated by right-wing American Christians. This has been a tactic of the “pro-life” movement for years — they can’t get enough of the abortion-equals-Holocaust analogy, and even the Anti-Defamation League, no great enemy of the Christian right-wing, has said to a few politicians, “ix-nay on the Holocaust-hay comparisons… This plan is problematic, even offensive in so, so, so many ways. First of all, if any memorial gets built in Wichita it should be for Dr. Tiller who was a friend to women and a deeply compassionate provider.”
From the Jewish Daily Forward
Others took issue with what they saw as an appropriation of Jewish history. “People are talking about it in a very dismissive, funny way,” said Rabbi Michael Davis of Congregation Emanu-El, a Reform synagogue. Davis, one of the few Jews aware of the project, said, “I see it as another example of a non-Jewish group taking a Jewish symbol and reinterpreting it for their own private use and thereby bastardizing it.”
Apart from the small Orthodox Jewish Community, the majority of America Jews are, according to reliable polling data (Gallup, Pew), pro-choice. This latest pro-life controversy serves to alienate them even further from the pro-life movement which is, at its core, a majority Christian movement that, as demonstrated in Pharmer’s comment about pro-choice Jews being “killers”, has appended “baby killer” to the 2,000 year old claim that Jews are “Christ-killers” – a view that contributed to the killing of Jews at the hands of Christians.
While many of you are concerned about the sensitivities of Jews about the Wailing Wall motif, you could care less about the sensitivities of Jews regarding the pro-life equivalency of abortion to the Shoah. Talk about some cognitive dissonance.
I always show my politically moderate/independent Jewish friends and acquaintances this stuff, just as a reminder of what modern conservatism proudly stands for. It keeps them voting Democrat.
CC and Joan,
Go away.
Joan thanks for sharing our views with your friends! Awesome.
cc, wow, it’s like you’re finally getting it. No, some of us don’t care if we offend pro-choicers, no matter what religion they say they are. Maybe if they stopped their pregnancy shaming, a few less women would kill their pre-born children. Maybe they should be more concerned with the slaughter of tiny innocents than whether nor not they’ve been offended. Maybe pro-choicers of all religions have a problem getting their priorities in order. If you’re not pro-life, you’re pro-death. “Choice” equals death, not a cute little euphemism for “development prevention.”
ninek says:
July 29, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Joan thanks for sharing our views with your friends! Awesome.cc, wow, it’s like you’re finally getting it. No, some of us don’t care if we offend pro-choicers, no matter what religion they say they are. Maybe if they stopped their pregnancy shaming, a few less women would kill their pre-born children.
(Denise) I asked Eleanor Cooney, who had an abortion when it was illegal, if she would have carried to term and placed for adoption if there had been no stigma on it but more support and praise for birthmothers who place for adoption.
She said that was “quite irrelevant” because she “just wasn’t going to complete the pregnancy.” She said she had no fear of stigma. She rejected the PREGNANCY ITSELF. Thus, in her case, the unborn inside her was doomed from conception.
As I’ve said before, I prefer for this “choice” to itself become “quite irrelevant” because pregnancies like hers should never happen IMO. However, the law was powerless to bring the pregnancy to term since it was illegal at the time she aborted.
“If you’re not pro-life, you’re pro-death.”
Two can play this game: if you’re pro-life you’re anti-women’s rights. And while you believe that you’re a member of the “one, true, faith”, not all faiths would agree. The Jewish Talmud expresses one belief (the soul does not come into a person until after birth), your “majesterium” expresses another. But nice to see that you think that Jews are, along with being Christ killers, “baby killers.”
“Maybe they should be more concerned with the slaughter of tiny innocents than whether nor not they’ve been offended.” Right, the Holocaust was no big deal compared with abortion. Way to alienate yourself from a group of people who suffered more from your “one, true church” than other oppressed people. (Since the conversion of Constantine). Remember, Hitler was still a member of your “one, true church” when he died. And aside from attempting to annihilate the Jews, he was “pro-life.” (He criminalized abortion for the German people in order to procreate the “master race.”)
But here’s the thing, Ninek. All your street theater histrionics won’t change the fact that mainstream American Jews and liberal Protestants are pro-choice. If you criminalize abortion, they will be assisting, as they did pre-Roe (I’m thinking of some Brown U. chaplains) in running the abortion underground railroad and helping women get to Canada for their abortions. Will you be at the border with your AK47 and your rosary beads, Ninek?
CC,
I think you need a big hug. Carrying all that hate and anger around with you is not good. Seriously.
Oh, I wouldn’t worry about street theater, that comes and goes on both sides. My favorite thing that will make abortion history is technology. One joyful ultrasound on facebook is priceless.
I am glad to see many pointing out the idea of a replica of the Wailing Wall is dumb.
If such a memorial is built, it should be either of two ways: A Christian site, sponsored by a church and part of that church’s activities, OR a non-denominational memorial with some section or exhibit or area devoted to the efforts of Christians to fight for this human rights issue.
The Holocaust Museum in DC is largely about Jews, but not entirely. And it is not presented as specifically a Jewish thing. Women all over the world are pressured by society, or are misinformed by society, that abortion is OK. Women the world over, from all faiths as well as non-theists, know that getting an abortion is wrong.
All of these people should feel invited, and feel that such a memorial is about the abortion they are touched by. Whether their faith is Christianity or not.
I became pro-life long before I became a Christian – by several years. By my mindset back then, I would have visited an abortion memorial that was maybe fairly religious in a bague or unobtrusive way. But if I knew it were simply a Christian effort, I would not have gone.
That’s why my opinion is to either have this be a Christian thing for Chirstians (all invited, but a Christian spirutuality and sensibility throughout to be something to speak to Christians) or it be non-religious, with some religious content, since that is the historical reality.
Maybe like the Flight 93 Memorial, the abortion memorial should be in the shape of a giant crescent that points to Mecca. Some ideas can be gleaned from crescentofbetrayal dot com
If you criminalize abortion, they will be assisting, as they did pre-Roe (I’m thinking of some Brown U. chaplains) in running the abortion underground railroad and helping women get to Canada for their abortions.
When abortion is again illegal, we realize that some people will still have and assist women in killing their preborn children. A few abortionists put in prison will help keep the numbers low.
Heck, murder of born humans is illegal in our country but people continue to do and assist in that.
…A wailing wall? Um, no. Just no. That’s not okay. At all. That’s pretty offensive. I don’t know what is wrong with an original memorial. I hate this attempt to disrespect the victims of other tragedies to bring attention to abortion.
Does anyone know when this is all going to be built?? I would love to go there!