The Jewish Federations of North America board of trustees has sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underscoring the “growing sense of urgency” on the part of American Jews to see the agreement to create an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall fully implemented.
The letter was approved by the board on Nov. 14 during JFNA’s annual General Assembly, which was Nov. 13-15 in Washington, D.C.
“[W]e are writing to affirm our unwavering love for the State of Israel as well as to convey our collective appreciation for all you have done to advance the establishment of an egalitarian prayer space at the Kotel and to make room for a diversity of Jewish religious practice and expression,” the letter says. “We recognize that no Israeli leader understands the importance of religious pluralism or has done more in this area than you have.
“We are sure you can understand the concerns we hear from many in our communities who struggle to understand why the implementation of the historic government resolution to create a space at the Kotel where all Jews are free to worship appears stalled.”
Under the agreement approved in January, the egalitarian section of the wall near Robinson’s Arch would be expanded and placed under the authority of a pluralist committee. The plan called for solidifying haredi Orthodox control over the site’s traditional Orthodox section. But the religious partners in the agreement backed away from the deal and in June, a group of Orthodox Jewish organizations filed a petition with Israel’s Supreme Court to prevent the establishment of the egalitarian section. — jta