Shift on mixed-gender prayers draws outrage
U.S. Jewish groups assail ‘dangerous’ plan for Western Wall
An Israeli government decision to shelve a plan that would have allowed women to pray with men at the iconic Western Wall is drawing bitter outrage from some American Jewish groups.
The Israeli government announced with little fanfare Sunday that it was scrapping a compromise agreement that would have created an area for women and men to pray together along the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s most holy sites.
Prayers historically have been segregated; a small area of the Western Wall is reserved for women.
The issue has been a point of contention for Conservative and Reform Jews for decades. A deal struck more than a year ago to ease the rules along the Western Wall — or Kotel — repeatedly has been stalled by Orthodox leaders.
The New York-based American Jewish Committee said it was “deeply disappointed” in the government’s decision.
The group’s CEO, David Harris, lashed out at Orthodox leaders who have maintained a grip on Wetern Wall operations.
“The Kotel belongs to all Jews worldwide, not to a self-appointed segment,” Harris said. “This decision is a setback for Jewish unity and the essential ties that bind Israel and American Jews, the two largest centers of Jewish life in the world.”
The board of governors for the U.S.-based Jewish Agency, meeting in Israel, canceled a dinner with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urged elected officials in Israel to “to take all necessary action to ensure that these dangerous and damaging steps are halted.”
The Conservative/Masorti Movement, representing several conservative organizations, said it “deplores this action, yet another failure to uphold an agreement reached after years of negotiations.”
The statement said it sees the increasing influence of “an intolerant religious establishment as an existential threat” to Jewish unity.
“We will not rest until ... Israel fulfills the promise of its Zionist origins and founding declaration to ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex,” the statement said.
Netanyahu’s base of support comes from the Orthodox community, which has been lobbying against a pluralistic prayer section of the ancient, limestone wall since the government and Conservative Jewish leaders reached the agreement in January 2016. The Cabinet decision came amid pressure from supporters of pluralistic worship who became frustrated with government inaction since the deal was reached.
Cabinet Secretary Tzachi Braverman said Monday, however, that Netanyahu has ordered talks aimed at a pluralistic prayer section to continue.
The Western Wall draws thousands of worshipers and the curious each day. Last month, President Trump, wearing a black yarmulke, became the first U.S. president to visit the Western Wall. His wife, Melania, prayed at the section reserved for women.
Presidents have avoided the Western Wall in the past because of its politically charged location in the Old City, which came under Israeli control following the Six Day War in 1967.
Not all the dissent is coming from the United States.
Women of the Wall is an Israelibased group dedicated to win more rights for women worshipers.
“From a morning of joy at Rosh Hodesh to an afternoon of outrage and disappointment,” the group posted on its Facebook page. “We need your support.”
“The Kotel belongs to all Jews worldwide, not to a self-appointed segment.” David Harris, American Jewish Committee