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The ultra-orthodox rabbinate, which enjoys a monopoly on religious Jewish life in Israel from births and marriages to places of worship, was unwilling to allow any changes at the site.
“Though much work regarding the implementation of this decision still remains, it is because of our perseverance and commitment to Jewish peoplehood that we are measurably closer today to the ultimate symbol of that reality – one wall for one people”, the statement said.
The cabinet voted 15-5 to approve the long-negotiated plan to enable non-Orthodox Jews to perform services in their own manner, including egalitarian male-female prayer services, or all women prayer groups with women chanting the prayers and reading from the Torah.
The Jewish Federations of North America, where liberal streams of Judaism are prevalent, said the mixed prayer decision was a “critical acknowledgement” by Israel of the need for “one wall for one people”.
The Western Wall forms part of a huge compound in the Old City, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram ash-Sharif.
– The decision also highlights the deep rift over how religion should be practiced in Israel, where ultra-Orthodox rabbis strictly govern practices such as weddings, divorces and burials.
The compromise reached Sunday, and developed by the director of the Jewish Agency Natan Sharansky, thus provides for the creation of a third space open to non-Orthodox faithful men and women. Ultra-Orthodox Jews have thrown rocks and plastic chairs at liberal worshippers.
The new prayer section would enable men and women to pray together in a space comprising hundreds of square metres (square yards) around the archaeological site known as Robinson’s Arch, which has over the years hosted egalitarian ceremonies.
The new prayer area will be administered by an independent committee, removing it from the auspices of the Western Wall’s official religious custodian, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who commented that he received the cabinet’s decision with a “heavy heart and a sigh of relief”.
“But they say, how come when we are fighting every day against the delegitimization of the State of Israel, the State of Israel delegitimizes us?” “The fact that nobody is fully satisfied means everybody was listening”. The dispute had raised tensions between the Israeli government and US Jewry where Reform and Conservative movements have significant influence.
Schonfeld said that although the $8.8 million government allocation for pluralistic prayer is welcome, it is a fraction of the funding allocated to the northern wall’s administration. “We’ll continue to argue for equal treatment for our rabbis”, said Wernick, who participated in the negotiations over mixed-gender prayer.
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This compromise “sends a strong message to Israelis and Diaspora Jews on the importance of Jewish pluralism”, they added.
