Diaspora minister: Western Wall shouldn’t be issue that divides Jews

15 December 2021, 5:03 pm

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Jewish men praying for forgivness (Selichot), at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem on September 5, 2021, prior to the upcoming Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai says that the argument over the Western Wall should not be an issue that divides Israeli and Diaspora Jews.

“We have enough external enemies and internal disagreements — the Western Wall does not need to be one of them,” Shai says during a meeting of the Knesset Lobby to Strengthen Diaspora Jews.

Shai is commenting on news that the government plans to shelve a compromise deal on egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall — a deal that he backs.

The minister, a member of the Labor party, said yesterday that he will continue to fight for the deal and that the government must honor its coalition agreements.

“The government of Israel will continue to strive for the implementation of the Western Wall compromise,” he said. “As long as [the Labor party] sits in government, we will push for equality for all streams of Judaism.”