Bennett backs Western Wall deal, but will go along with coalition partners

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, who also holds the Diaspora Ministry portfolio, says he supports the compromise that would see a a mixed-gender prayer plaza built at the Western Wall, but will go along with whatever the coalition decides on the matter.

“I support implementing the Western Wall deal. Certainly, if the government decides otherwise, I am subject to coalition [restrictions],” he says.

While throwing his support behind the stalled agreement, on ice since January 2016 amid protests from ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, the education minister says he was behind building the platform at Robinson’s Arch four years ago as an interim compromise.

Bennett says he “loses sleep” over the “apathy” of American Jews toward Judaism and Israel. He says his ministry is investing millions to strengthen Jewish identity in the Diaspora, which he says is the State of Israel’s third most pressing priority, behind its security and social cohesion.

“We are losing millions of Jews to assimilation,” he says.

— Marissa Newman