Labor MK: Religious affairs minister has no authority to spike Western Wall compromise

Labor MK Gilad Kariv says Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana doesn’t have the authority to shelve the so-called Western Wall compromise following a Times of Israel report that the latter has decided with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to freeze the plan, which ​would accommodate mixed-gender prayer at the Jerusalem holy site.

“The Western Wall compromise was discussed directly with the president along with the prime minister and his bureau. The issue is not at all within the purview of Minister Kahana,” Kariv — a Reform rabbi and advocate of the agreement — says in a statement.

“Despite [opposition head Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Shas party chairman Aryeh] Deri’s false attempts to set fire to the Western Wall and deepen the division among the Jewish people for political and personal reasons, the current government has renewed its strategic dialogue between the State of Israel and the liberal streams on the Western Wall and many other issues,” Kariv says, referring to the Shas campaign backed by Likud to prevent the implementation of the 2016 deal that was reached when both Netanyahu and Deri were in government.

“As stated in a statement to the High Court delivered a few days ago, the current government is committed to the process of establishing an egalitarian and state-owned prayer plaza at the Western Wall,” Kariv says.

“A clear majority of Knesset members from the coalition and the opposition support this outline and we will stand by its promotion, without playing into the hands of those who use incitement and discourse of hatred in favor of short-term political gains.”