A bill that would grant sole control over the whole Kotel (Western Wall) – including the egalitarian section – to Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate has been approved in a preliminary reading by the Knesset.
This bill would imprison anyone for up to seven years for praying at the Kotel contrary to ultra-Orthodox standards, thereby impacting the Progressive and egalitarian prayer and lifecycle celebrations that have taken place there for more than 50 years.
We are asking members to click here and join the global Jewish community in telling the Israeli Government to stop promoting this Kotel bill.
Read on as our Progressive Jewish leaders respond to this demonising and dangerous legislation:
Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, Co-Leads of The Movement for Progressive Judaism, said: “This proposed legislation is profoundly alarming. The Western Wall is not the property of one stream of Judaism, nor of one political coalition. It is a sacred national site that belongs to the entire Jewish people.
“Successive Israeli governments have already recognised this principle. Agreements were reached to ensure space for egalitarian prayer at the Kotel, and those commitments were reinforced through decisions of the World Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency institutions representing world Jewry. Advancing legislation that would effectively outlaw egalitarian worship does not simply change policy – it risks breaking faith with millions of Jews in Israel and across the Diaspora.
“As leaders of The Movement for Progressive Judaism in the United Kingdom, we stand with our Israeli Reform and Masorti partners and with all who are working to uphold Israel as both Jewish and democratic. Religious freedom and equality at holy sites are not marginal concerns; they are central to the relationship between Israel and world Jewry.
“We urge Israeli decision-makers to honour existing commitments and ensure that the Kotel remains a place where every Jew can pray according to their conscience and tradition.”
Rabbi Lea Mühlstein and Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein lead a group from The Ark Synagogue – in partnership with Arzenu and the Zionist Federation UK – to the Kotel in protest after the vote
Rabbi Lea Mühlstein, Immediate Past Chair of Arzenu, the political wing of Reform and Progressive Zionists worldwide, said: “At the World Zionist Congress in October, our coalition passed a resolution calling on the Israeli government to reopen the egalitarian section of the Kotel and allow all streams of Judaism to practice and pray at the Western Wall.
“The Israeli Supreme Court agrees with us, demanding in a ruling last week that the government fulfil its commitment to provide an accessible and adequate space for egalitarian prayer at the Kotel. Instead of following this ruling, Israel’s governing coalition wants to turn anyone who does not follow the Chief Rabbinate into a criminal.
“We will not stand by and let this happen. Our representatives in Israel’s National Institutions, together with Progressive Jews from across the world, will continue our fight for religious pluralism in Israel.”