Paper Runs Obama's Western Wall Prayer

The prayer Barack Obama put in Jerusalem’s Western Wall yesterday was removed by a Jewish seminary student and published in a local newspaper, the AP reports. It read, “Lord—Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”

The rabbi in charge of Judaism’s holiest site was livid: “The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them.” He added that the publication “damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves.” (More Barack Obama stories.)