Netanyahu on Shas bill: Western Wall status quo to remain exactly as is

9 February 2023, 4:23 pm

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in a video statement about a Shas-backed bill to restrict non-Orthodox prayer at the Western Wall, on February 9, 2023. (Twitter screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comments on a bill proposed by his Shas allies to restrict non-Orthodox religious customs at the Western Wall.

“The status quo at the Western Wall, which is dear to all the Jewish people, will be maintained as it is today,” he says in a video statement.

Netanyahu says he spoke with coalition chiefs and they agreed the bill “won’t come up right now.”

“And if it does come up, it won’t include the clauses criminalizing [immodest] clothing or musical instruments… which are unacceptable to everyone,” he adds. “Therefore the Western Wall will remain exactly as it is today.”