Netanyahu Says He Chose ‘Practical Path’ On Western Wall Prayer

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with Jewish leaders in New York, September 17, 2017 Image by Avi Ohion
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu said when it comes to egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall, he chose a practical approach over one that would touch on deep symbolism.
Netanyahu met with a small group of Jewish representatives Sunday and sought to explain away his government’s decision to renege on an agreement setting a prayer section in which men and women can pray together. He asserted that the work being done to expand nearby Robinson Arch will provide non-Orthodox Jews with the same outcome without angering Orthodox parties in Israel.
“We have ways to solve the kotel issue,” Netanyahu told reporters in New York Monday. “But if you get into symbolic issues, it becomes difficult.” The Israeli prime minister said he was faced with legal challenges by the Reform on the one hand and by a public campaign on the streets of ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods on the other, “and my response was to move forward with the practical side.”
Netanyahu noted that all Israeli leaders before him had to deal with similar problems and all came up with ad-hoc solutions.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Make a Passover Gift Today!
Most Popular
- 1
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
- 2
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
- 3
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
- 4
Opinion What Jewish university presidents say: Trump is exploiting campus antisemitism, not fighting it
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward FSU shooting suspect used neo-Nazi imagery on social media, ADL finds
-
Fast Forward Pope Francis’ final speech called for ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza war
-
Opinion Shackled, imprisoned and subjected to false accusations, Kilmar Abrego Garcia recalls the fate of Captain Alfred Dreyfus
-
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.