The Israeli cabinet has voted to allow non-Orthodox Jewish prayer in a specially designated area here.
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For the first time in Israel’s history, a new official mixed male-female prayer area will be established near the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites, the country’s cabinet announced on Sunday.
Women of the Wall has campaigned for equal prayer rights at the Western Wall for the past 27 years, holding monthly protests in the plaza in front of the wall’s ancient golden stones.
Progressives celebrated Sunday’s Cabinet vote in favor of building a new $9 million plaza for mixed-gender prayer at the Western Wall as a historic, formal recognition of the Reform and Conservative movements that dominate American Jewish life but are largely sidelined in Israel.
“We applaud Israel’s historic decision”, a joint statement from the Conservative, Reform movements and Jewish Federations in the United States read.
Orthodox organization Agudath Israel of America, meanwhile, said Israel’s plan “profanes the holy site” and “creates yet a further lamentable rift between Jews”.
Arieh Deri of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party accused reformists of causing unnecessary strife, insisting the Israel should still be administrated by “devout Judaism”. Men and women would be able to pray side-by-side next to an existing area run by ultra-Orthodox rabbis that is now split into prayer sections for men and women.
The Government of Israel has given its seal of approval to expand the non-orthodox and mixed gender prayer section located at the Jerusalem’s Western Wall.
“Equality of gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation are central to Liberal Judaism and now at last liberal Jews can celebrate a Judaism in keeping with the modern world at our most holy site”.
The Western Wall, or Kotel, the holiest site in Judaism after the Temple Mount, is a remnant of the second Jewish Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in the year 66. And what we have done is liberate another part of the wall that will be open to all.
According to the proposed agreement, a new prayer area will be set up along the wall south of the current prayer area.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns remarks by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers against Reform and Conservative Jewry.
I get the sense that some liberal Jews want more than just an end to state-sponsored religious discrimination, but want the Orthodox community to see liberal Judaism as legitimate.
The women’s demands were anathema to Israel’s ultra-Orthodox religious establishment, which manages the site. He also said, the Times of Israel reported, “The Reform are responsible for the bad intermarriage that we’ve been witnessing in the United States”.
Israeli authorities do not allow Jews to pray on the compound.
While the new prayer space is a partnership between religiously liberal Jews and the government, Schonfeld said, “we don’t view this as something the government is doing for the Diaspora”.
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