http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4225402,00.html

Contamination found in Kotel prayer books


Public Health
Association discovers bacteria contamination in samples from Western
Wall prayer books. Site's Rabbi: Cause is women's crying


Dr. Itay Gal
Published: 05.10.12, 08:29 / Israel Culture


A recent examination of communal prayer books in the Western Wall
shows large numbers of fecal bacteria,
a contamination that far exceeds the normal rate.



The contamination was found in books both from the women's
section and the men's section. Still, the Western Wall's rabbi argues
that the blame is solely on the women that tend to hold the books close
to their faces and shed tears.



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The test comprised of samples taken from prayer books from both sides
of the partition. The samples revealed extremely large numbers of fecal
bacteria colonies including E. coli and other coliform bacteria.



One sample had 460,000 colonies (1000 being the normal rate) and
another had 540,000 colonies of bacteria, in addition to high
concentration of mold.



High concentration of bacteria can lead to inflammatory bowel,
abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and sometimes even to life threatening
infections.



Although the books are used by men and women alike, the holy site's rabbi, Shmuel Rabinovitch
placed the blame solely on the women. He claimed that hundreds of women cry every day into the books, causing contamination.



The rabbi added that the power of women's prayer is often
stronger than men's thanks to their tears, excitement and spiritual
transcendence.





The
rabbi said that the prayer books in the site are frequently replaced,
but reaffirmed that following the conclusions of the examination the
books will be replaced more often.



Israel's Association of Public Health saluted Rabbi Rabinovitch for his cooperation and quick response.