Jerusalem Grand Mufti Condemns Western Wall Agreement

The new policy, at one of Judaism’s holiest sites, would create a space for egalitarian prayer and mixed-gender ceremonies for non-Orthodox Jews.

The wall is considered to be the holiest site for Jews in Jerusalem, as it is the last remaining piece of the Temple Mount, and Women of the Wall, a campaign group battling for 27 years for equal prayer rights, has been holding monthly protests.

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Calling Women of the Wall a “fringe and vociferous group”, he says in a statement that the wall, once a place of unity, has become one of “incessant quarrels”.

“I know this is a sensitive topic, but I think it is an appropriate solution, a creative solution”, Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday’s Cabinet meeting, where members voted on the plan.

While men are permitted to sing prayers and wear Jewish prayer shawls in their section, until 2013 female worshippers were not allowed to do so.. The new mixed-gender part will be built south of the men and women’s section in an area known as Robinson’s Arch.

The New York Times’ Isabel Kershner reports on the decision from Jerusalem, also looking at the greater struggle behind practices allowed at the Western Wall.

No formal vote was taken on the plan due to ultra-Orthodox reservations it would be perceived as recognition of non-Orthodox groups.

However, Sunday’s government decision approves the replacement of a temporary prayer platform for egalitarian prayer, established by then-Religious Affairs Minister Naftali Bennett, with a more permanent structure.

American Jews, many of whom are Reform and Conservative Jews, will particularly benefit from the decision.

“For decades, Israel has given full religious authority at the Kotel to Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism”. Netanyahu appointed a committee in 2013, led by the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency, to seek solutions for non-Orthodox prayer there.

“This historic decision recognizes that Jews of every denomination now have a place to pray in a way which is most meaningful to them at Judaism’s most revered site”, said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO.

The Orthodox custodian of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, said that prayer at the existing stretch of the Wall will continue “in accordance with Jewish religious law and Jewish tradition handed down from generation to generation”.

Rumours of Israel’s intention to change the status quo there fuelled the latest four-month wave of Palestinian violence.

Irina Nevzlin, chair of the board of directors of The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot, said in a statement: “To see such a thorny issue resolved, through discussion and compromise, underlines the huge importance of building bridges and connections across the Jewish world”.