Israel Top Court Sets June 4 Deadline On Western Wall Prayer Deal
Women of the Wall gathered at the Kotel in May. Image by Getty Images
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court called on the Israeli government to respond to lawsuits regarding the establishment of an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall.
The court on Friday set a deadline of June 4 for the government to respond to the lawsuits and resolve the crisis, Haaretz reported.
The court combined three different lawsuits dealing with aspects of egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall. The government has delayed responding to the lawsuits for at least the last six months.
Last month, Netanyahu told a delegation from the Union for Reform Judaism that he had appointed government minister Tzachi Hanegbi to help resolve issues between the haredi Orthodox parties and the Reform movement and other liberal groups to allow the plan for egalitarian prayer at Robinson’s Arch at the Western Wall to go forward.
An agreement passed in January 2016 by the government for an egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall was negotiated by the Reform and Conservative movements, the Women of the Wall organization, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israeli government.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
