Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 25, 2017
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Ex-US envoy says shelving Western Wall plan the ‘abandonment of Zionism’
Deputy minister and former US ambassador Michael Oren criticizes Netanyahu’s decision to freeze the government-approved plan for pluralistic prayer pavilion at the Western Wall as the “abandonment of Zionism,” and says it unfairly demonizes non-Orthodox Jews.
“As far as I’m concerned, this is the abandonment of Zionism. The Western Wall belongs to all Jews,” Oren says in a statement, saying the move would only serve the “the narrow interests” of the ultra-Orthodox parties.
“This despicable decision sends a sharp message of division and alienation to Diaspora Jewry,” he adds. “The State of Israel defines itself as the nation-state of the Jewish people. It must start behaving like it.”
