Jerusalem – The Prime Minister’s Office in Israel said it was working to ensure that Jews of all streams can feel comfortable praying at the Western Wall after the Cabinet voted to freeze an agreement that would have made a permanent space there for women and men to pray as they wish.
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Non-Orthodox and feminist groups in Israel and the Diaspora reacted with outrage Sunday at the news that the government had suspended the 17-month-old agreement under pressure from haredi Orthodox interests.
Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman said in a statement Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had issued directives instructing that work be expedited to create a comfortable egalitarian section to the south of the Western Wall plaza. A small prayer area near that site, known as Robinson’s Arch, has been in use since 2000.
“Jews from all streams be able to continue praying there – as they are able to do today,” Braverman said.
Braverman also said that Netanyahu instructed him and fellow minister Tzachi Hanegbi “to continue dialogue in order to try and reach a solution.”
“It is important to Prime Minister Netanyahu that every Jew is able to pray at the Western Wall,” Braverman said in the statement, adding: “I recommend that those trying to exploit this issue be precise with the facts.”
Leaders of Diaspora Jewry and the Women of the Wall group originally sought a space at the familiar Western Wall plaza to the north of Robinson’s Arch where women and men could pray together and women could wear tallitot and yarmulkes and pray from a Torah scroll. The January 2016 compromise called for a larger and more permanent prayer space to the south of the plaza, a single entrance to the entire Western Wall complex, a pluralistic joint committee to oversee the southern area and a budget to pay for it.
Following Sunday’s announcement of the Cabinet vote to “freeze” the compromise, its proponents issued statements criticizing Netanyahu for reneging on his commitments. They are unlikely to be assuaged by Braverman’s terse defense of the status quo.
Freezing the compromise only deepens “the already accelerating divide between Diaspora Jews and Israel, precisely at a time when Jewish unity has never been more important,” Eric Goldstein, CEO of UJA-Federation of New York, said in a statement Monday. “We call on the government to immediately restore and move ahead with the Kotel agreement – a rare, unified compromise between all denominations that would be a landmark achievement for all Jews.”
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, the head of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party and one of two Cabinet members to vote against the decision to freeze the agreement with liberal groups, said in a statement that it “constitutes a severe blow to the unity of the Jewish people, Jewish communities, and the fabric of relations between the State of Israel and the Jews of the Diaspora.”
Liberman said at the beginning of his party faction’s meeting Monday that he would not bring down the government over the issue, however, but work to come to a compromise.
Yair Lapid, head of the opposition Yesh Atid party, spoke in English at the beginning of his party’s faction meeting in order to reach the Jewish Diaspora, particularly U.S. Jews, he said.
“I want to tell you that the vast majority of the citizens of Israel oppose the two decisions taken yesterday by the government,” he said, referring to the Western Wall decision and a separate conversion bill that would solidify conversions in Israel under the authority of the haredi-dominated Chief Rabbinate.
“Do not give up on us. We have no intention of giving up on you. We are one people. It might take time. It might take elections. But in a democracy the majority decides and the majority in Israel want us to be one nation.”
He also said, “We will fight this together until these two decisions are canceled.”
Sephardi Orthodox Shas Party leader Arye Deri, who opposes the Western Wall compromise, said during his party’s meeting that dividing the Western Wall “destroys Jewish unity.”
He added: “Every Jew in the world, and non-Jews, can come pray there.
“We have nothing against Jews, in any place they may be. They are all our brothers. Our fight is against the approach, this ideology which is attempting to bring a new Judaism here, is trying to destroy everything that we built here over the years.”
The logic here has a fundamental flaw. Halacha is clear about the separation of the sexes for tefila betzibbur. As such, and breach of that is a violation of Torah Law. No ifs, ands, or buts. If those who have trimmed Torah law to accommodate them, instead of the halachically mandated opposite, wish to pray at the Kotel, that is their freedom. But the Kotel is NOT a place to tamper with halacha. They cannot tell anyone with a straight face that there is a reason to davka daven with the genders mixed. So they can easily exercise their rights to pray there by following the current division. They are violating the rights of those present as well as true halacha by insisting on their egalitarian stuff. Bibi is correct here, and we should grateful for this, as well as completely supportive.
it sounds like were talking about Indonesia or perhaps Saidi Arabia. Is this discussion about the so called Jewish State?? Am I dreaming? LGBT pride parades, the lowest of the low and now mixing genders at the holy site. The only thing is to beg for mashiachs arrival to destroy the so called Yiddishe medina.
Unity of the jewish people may be achieved when the interests of the majority is upheld.The small minority must be protected however they cant expect to overturn the established rule.
The kotel plaza is open for all but the rule is for normative orthodox law is to be followed.The reform, conservative movement is solely a product of people living in the USA. It Didn’t exist before the 1840s and follows in the shadow of modern christian,american practice IE. the use of musical instruments during prayer, seating of men and women together during prayer, having females lead the service and perform the duties of the rabbi.originally kippot and tallit were strictly forbidden to be worn in their’ temples’.The laws of kashrut and shabbat and the whole gamut of halacha was considered to be of no importance today. The main weekly service was on sunday not saturday because everyone worked on saturday.
What we see today is the slow growth of traditional judaism among them as they see the phenomenal growth of orthodoxy, So they come to the kotel wearing tallit and tefillin and reading in a torah scroll.proclaiming ” we’re also as jewish as you”
The interference by American Jewish interests in the operations of the Kosel is just so offensive.
Wake up call for American liberal groups trying to impose their opinions; occasional visitors do not have the same rights as resident citizens of Israel.
If this was a concern for liberal Israeli’s it would be wrong, but understandable. American tourists??? A real chutzpah.
Then the leader of three reform movement gives a press conference announcing that :
#1. Liberal Israeli’s are your – they aren’t, they either accept the status quo, are they are disinterested. If he talked to them her would know that.
#2. Liberal American Jews are upset. They are upset because somebody said no to them. Most reform Jews don’t even own tallis and tefillin, key alone use them. And there once in 5 or 10 years they visit, they can put up with local customs.
This whole issue of liberal Jewish American paternalism is just so offensive to Israelis.
What do you do once the supreme court gets the challenge, and rules that accommodations must be made for EVERY group at the existing plaza. Do we really think the supreme court will say only orthodox Jews are Jews? They will keep it orthodox, but force times where other kinds of Jews can use it. Just as we have to accommodate Arabs at the Meoras Ha’machpela. Once we are forced to accommodate them, you might show up at the Kosel with your kids and an openly lesbian group is dancing around with Torahs, kissing the Torah and each other at the same time.
Fools, we should have let them move it to their own area, and keep the regular part free of all of this. Also, every time we do this, Lapid has a greater chance to rile up the non-religions in he next election and get into office. We are just shooting ourselves in the foot……watch and you will see. Chalk up another one where the Rabbonim blew it.
I don’t think there’ anything in the mesorah of those”branches” that forbids prayers when genders are separated. Judaism lite does not require such intermingling to pray.
I’m reminded of the tale that the chazer came before jews to show his cloven hoof and said see i’m also kosher.
My parents have an amazing actual photograph taken at the kotel from the late 19th century. It shows both women and men praying together. No mechitzah, just humble Jews praying to God. How nice it would be if we ould let go of the arrogance of Kotel “ownership” and let all Yiddin come the to pray in the way that speaks to their hearts, no matter liberal or frum.