Netanyahu dinner cancelled in prayer protest

JERUSALEM: A high-profile group of Jewish leaders cancelled a gala event with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday to protest against his government’s decision to scrap plans for a mixed-gender prayer area at Jerusalem’s Western Wall.

The stunning move reflects an unprecedented gulf that has erupted between Israel and the Jewish diaspora over how Judaism can be practised in Israel.

The board of governors of The Jewish Agency, a non-profit that works closely with the Israeli government to serve Jewish communities worldwide, said it was calling off its dinner with Netanyahu.

Dennis Ross, a former top US peace negotiator and currently chair of The Jewish People Policy Institute, said he was afraid that American Jews would no longer see Israel as a home.

“It is dangerous if there are steps taken here that would alienate the vast majority of American Jews.”

The about-face followed the initial approval of the plan in January last year to officially recognise the special mixed-gender prayer area at the Western Wall – the holiest site where Jews can pray.

But the programme was never implemented as powerful ultra-Orthodox members of Netanyahu’s coalition government raised objections to the decision they had initially endorsed.

Under ultra-Orthodox management, the wall is currently separated between men’s and women’s prayer sections.

Elazar Stern, a modern Orthodox lawmaker from the centrist Yesh Atid party, asked the attorney-general yesterday to review what he called a murky decision-making process.

“Cancelling the Western Wall agreement causes a severe crisis between Israel and the Jewish diaspora,” he wrote.

Ultra-Orthodox rabbis strictly govern Jewish practices in Israel such as weddings, divorces and burials.

The ultra-Orthodox religious establishment sees itself as responsible for maintaining traditions through centuries of persecution and assimilation, and it resists any inroads from liberals it often considers to be secondclass Jews who ordain women and gays, and are overly inclusive toward converts and interfaith marriages. – ANA-AP