Fast Forward

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

By Nathan Guttman September 18, 2017

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 guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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