Netanyahu under fire for shelving Western Wall mixed- gender prayers deal

Israel’s shelving of a deal to allow mixedgender prayers at the Western Wall echoed far beyond religion Monday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused of abandoning reform efforts for political gain.

Netanyahu’s cabinet voted Sunday to back out of the hard- won deal, provoking a flood of criticism and warnings it could damage Israel’s relationship with the United States’ influential Jewish community.

That followed pressure from ultraOrthodox Jewish parties who are part of Netanyahu’s right- wing coalition and follow a strict interpretation of religious rules.

Such parties have often played a kingmaker role in Israeli politics and have opposed years of efforts by more liberal Jews to win equal rights for women at the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism.

Women and men currently pray in separate areas at the site in Jerusalem’s Old City, where religious affairs are overseen by Israel’s ultra- Orthodox establishment.

A compromise reached more than a year ago would have created a third space near the wall, open to both women and men.

Sunday’s cabinet vote froze the deal – effectively canceling it – despite the government having earlier endorsed it.

In a sign of the tensions the decision provoked, the Jewish Agency, a quasigovernmental organization that helped mediate the deal, heavily criticized the move and canceled an event with Netanyahu scheduled for Monday evening in response.

Yair Lapid, an opposition figure and leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party, said the decision meant Israel was “the only democracy in the world without equality for Jews.”

“Did Prime Minister Netanyahu and his ministers decide to cancel the framework because they thought it was the right thing for the people of Israel?” Lapid said on his Facebook page.

“Of course not. They did it because the only thing which motivates them is political pressure.”

Netanyahu had not publicly commented on the decision.