‘Game Of Chicken’ On Kotel Deal

Despite high court’s deadline, few expect egalitarian prayer pact to be implemented anytime soon.

07/09/2017 15:48

Tags: Western Wall · Supreme Court

The Western Wall during Shavuot, source: Wikipedia

Michele Chabin writes:

Jerusalem — During a much-anticipated Aug. 31 hearing, Israel’s Supreme Court sharply criticized the government for failing to implement its January 2016 deal with the non-Orthodox streams and Women of the Wall to create a pluralistic prayer space at the Kotel.

“You conducted negotiations, you reached an agreement for an outline — but then during the legal proceedings you made a fuss and said, ‘It’s being frozen,” Chief Justice Miriam Naor told the government’s lawyers. “There is legal process, it’s not a matter of doing whatever you want whenever you want.”

Naor warned the government that “an agreement that is frozen can be thawed.”

The court also gave the government just two weeks to justify why it hasn’t implemented the deal.

The Supreme Court realizes that whatever it decides will spur Israel’s ultra-Orthodox and right-wing political parties to make good on their threats to try to weaken the High Court through legislation.

The Supreme Court realizes that whatever it decides will spur Israel’s ultra-Orthodox and right-wing political parties to make good on their threats to try to weaken the High Court through legislation.

Already, the current government has nullified mandatory IDF service for Ultra-orthodox Israelis and is prepared to legislate that only the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate of Israel can perform Israel-based conversions.

Netanyahu is equally unwilling to go against his charedi coalition partners, even though he supported the prayer space. While Netanyahu doesn’t care about the status of non-Orthodox Jews in Israel or Women of the Wall, but he feels the need to convince American Jews that he cares about them.