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Israel’s Supreme Court sent a clear message to the government on Thursday that it wants it to reconsider its decision to suspend a plan to create a new egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall. 

“What happened here? What happened here?” Supreme Court President Miriam Naor asked the attorney representing the state at a hearing in a landmark case involving the status of non-Orthodox Jews at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, one of Judaism’s holiest sites.

“There was a deal, people worked on it, and then the government comes and says it doesn’t exist. This raises some questions.” 

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An agreement that is “frozen,” she added, “can also be thawed.” 

The Supreme Court is expected give the state 30-to-60 days to respond to the following two questions: Would the government be willing to revisit its decision to suspend the Western Wall agreement, and if not, do the state’s attorneys believe the Supreme Court has the authority to impose the agreement on the government?

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