BICOM

The Prime Minister continues to be criticised for the cabinet’s decision to freeze an 2016 government-approved plan to formalise an egalitarian prayer space at the Western wall.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said that cancelling the “Kotel [Western Wall] Framework” undermines Israel’s “national security, our foreign relations, our economy and above all – it is a serious blow, insulting and illogical, to the deeply held religious sensitivities of millions of Jews”.

Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who voted against the move on Sunday, said the decision reflected “religious coercion” and “an attempt to turn Israel into a Halachic state”.

Yesterday, the Jewish Agency took the unprecedented step of criticising the government, cancelling an invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attend a dinner with its Board of Governors.

Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism in the US, also cancelled a scheduled meeting with Netanyahu. In a statement Jacobs said that “two decisions that were made on one very dark day created an acute crisis between the Israeli government and Diaspora Jewry. This is a betrayal. We’‎ll meet in court”.

However, several government ministers have tried to alleviate criticism from the decision. The Prime Minister’s Office said that “construction [work] to prepare the southern plaza will be advanced,” which would involve making the current egalitarian prayer area a more suitable and dignified place for communal prayer, according to Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi.

Cabinet Secretary Tzahi Braverman has also emphasised that it was important for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “‎that every Jew can pray in the Western Wall”. In a statement Braverman underlined that the Prime Minister had issued instructions to expedite the construction work to perform the necessary improvements to the site.

Moshe Gafni from Ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism said that Sunday’s cabinet decision was intended to restore the status quo on affairs of religion and state to its prior condition.

Speaking about non-Orthodox Jews, who are a majority of American Jewry, Gafni said: “They live in the US and meddle in what is happening here, although they don’‎t have enough votes for even one seat here. Neither they nor the High Court of Justice will tell us what to do.”