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››Bill authorizing egalitarian prayer in Kotel proposed by the MK coalition

Bill authorizing egalitarian prayer in Kotel proposed by the MK coalition

By Daniel Bingham
July 18, 2021
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The Western Wall will have an official egalitarian prayer approved by the government, according to a new bill submitted by Blue and White MP Alon Tal, a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s governing coalition.

The bill, if passed, will implement a resolution creating a state-recognized egalitarian prayer section at the southern end of the Western Wall that was passed by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but abandoned under haredi (ultra-Orthodox) pressure four years ago. .

The Western Wall agreement provided for a large, state-recognized egalitarian section, accessible from the main Western Wall compound and headed by a council of concerned members, including progressive Jewish representatives and members of the Women of the Wall.

In his role as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Bennett built a plaza at the southern end of the wall in 2014 that was to be modernized as part of the Western Wall deal, written by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit when he was in Netanyahu’s cabinet. -secretary. An identical bill was introduced in the 20th Knesset by then-Orthodox MP Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid).

The bill comes after several hundred die-hard Zionist religious activists traveled to the current egalitarian section of the Western Wall (known as the Israeli section) on Saturday night and held prayer services there, severely disrupting the services of a Massorti group (curator).
Orthodox activists arrived at the site before the group for the Tisha Be’av evening service, which includes reading from the Book of Lamentations and prayers of mourning for the destruction of the temples in Jerusalem, and sang during the group’s reading Massorti of Lamentations, making it extremely difficult to listen to the reading.

The large number of religious-Zionist activists also established a gender separation, contrary to the custom of the egalitarian section, and also prevented dozens of Masorti worshipers who came soon after from entering the site.

“Instead of groundless unity and love, even the small section for Jews who want to pray according to their faith has been stolen by extremists on Tisha Beav,” Tal wrote on Twitter. “I am sure that the current coalition will ensure that all currents of Judaism are respected. “

President Isaac Herzog said he was disturbed by the incident and hoped that action would be taken to ensure it did not happen again.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter that the behavior of the Zionist religious group that tried to take over the egalitarian prayer site was “the baseless hatred that led to the destruction of the Temple and our exile.”
“We will not let them destroy the Kotel, destroy Israeli society or destroy our relations with the Jewish world,” Lapid said. “The Kotel belongs to all currents of Judaism and it will be a place where every Jew will feel at home.”

DIASPORA AFFAIRS Minister Nachman Shai told military radio that it was wrong to increase “wickedness and hatred” on Tisha Be’av.

“We haven’t learned anything from the story, and I’m angry and disappointed about it,” Shai said.

“There is no reason why a group that tries with all its might to steal what little reform and conservative movements have at their disposal should receive their small part of the southern section of the Western Wall.”

President of the World Jewish Congress Ronald S. Lauder said he was outraged by the incident. He called on Bennett and Deputy Prime Minister Yair Lapid to take all necessary steps to allow all Jews to pray undisturbed at the Western Wall from now on.

“I am more than appalled and dismayed by the groundless hatred shown by a group of extremist Orthodox fanatics who disrupted Tisha Be’av’s legal service led by conservative Jews on the section of the Western Wall reserved for egalitarian prayer,” Lauder said.

“The unorthodox currents of Judaism are just as legitimate as the Orthodox. If not unequivocally condemned by the Israeli government, this latest provocation will only widen a new wedge between Israel and the Diaspora. “

Darkenu, a non-partisan NGO, sent a letter to Bennett and other ministers demanding progress be made as soon as possible on the Western Wall deal, which aims to create equal spaces for prayer on the site. .

Darkenu also called for an increased police presence to allow Jews from all strands of Judaism to pray in the egalitarian section of the Western Wall.

“As an Orthodox religious Jew, I am ashamed that religious Jews spread hatred against Tisha Be’av,” Darkenu CEO Yair “Yaya” Fink said.

“The Western Wall belongs to all the Jews of the world. “

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