A large boulder from the Western Wall in Jerusalem came loose from the ancient site on Sunday tumbling down and shattering a prayer platform below, The Times of Jerusalem reported.
Fortunately, the platform was empty at the time so no one was hurt.
“Israel Antiquities Authority officials are dealing with the incident,” Yitzhar Hess, the head of the Masorti movement of traditional but not strictly observant Jews, said in a statement posted on Twitter, alongside dramatic footage of the stone coming down and crashing onto the platform.
“This is a wake-up call — we must check the entire Western Wall, both parts, so that heaven forbid there is no disaster in the future,” he added.
The incident happened just a day after the platform was filled with worshippers marking the Tisha B’Av fast, which honors the destruction of the two Jewish temples in Jerusalem.
The Western Wall, or “Wailing Wall”, is the holiest site in the world for Jewish people. Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, it is the western support wall of the Second Temple complex, which was destroyed by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago.
Thousands of people journey to the wall every year to visit and recite prayers.
These prayers are either spoken or written down and placed in the cracks of the wall.
The wall is divided into two sections, one area for men and the other for women. It is one of the major highlights in any tour of the Old City.
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