Rabbinate to draft alternative Western Wall mixed-gender plaza plan

Israel’s chief rabbinate is set to draft an alternative plan regarding the mixed-gender prayer section at the Western Wall, one that does not include recognition of the non-Orthodox denominations.

On Saturday night, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef met with the Western Wall rabbi, Shmuel Rabinovitch, to discuss their opposition to a plan recently approved by the cabinet to build a new plaza at Robinson’s Arch.

The three also discussed the issue with Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit — the Orthodox former cabinet secretary behind the cabinet-backed plan — on the phone, and decided to present an alternative plan, the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabat website reported.

The report said the new initiative would specifically omit any sort of recognition of the Reform or Conservative streams of Judaism.

A meeting between the two chief rabbis and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, scheduled for this week, was subsequently canceled.

A landmark agreement on prayer at the Western Wall was approved by the government cabinet in January, and officially sets aside an egalitarian prayer space at the Orthodox-controlled holy site for the first time in Israel’s history. According to the plan, the state will build a new plaza at Robinson’s Arch, adjacent to the Orthodox prayer plaza.

The far-reaching plan, which advocates say marks unprecedented government support for liberal streams of Judaism, was backed by Netanyahu.

The rabbinate broke its silence on February 25, declaring the new prayer site at Robinson’s Arch unlawful, according to the ultra-Orthodox Kikar HaShabat website. It was reportedly basing its opposition on a legal opinion which maintained that only the religious affairs minister has the authority to designate a new “holy site” in Israel.

The Chief Rabbinate Council convened a meeting two weeks ago, which concluded with a demand that the government freeze its plans at Robinson’s Arch until it consults with the rabbinate on the subject, according to the report.

But Gilad Kariv, the leader of the Reform Movement in Israel, said at the time that the rabbinate had already approved the decision to designate the mixed-gender area.

The Chief Rabbinate Council “is acting like it’s a branch of United Torah Judaism or Shas, rather than a state body,” he said in a statement, referring to the two ultra-Orthodox political parties in the government.

“The rabbinical establishment was involved in the discussions about the Western Wall compromise and gave its consent,” he maintained, accusing it of “shameful cowardice.”

Agencies contributed to this report.