Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky warns that yesterday’s cabinet decision to freeze to establish a pluralistic prayer pavilion at the Western Wall could damage Israel’s relations with Diaspora Jews.
He says the decision has led to some Jewish communities and individuals reconsidering traveling or donating to Israel.
“We won’t agree to anyone who wants to cancel his donation to Israel,” Sharansky says, adding that there have been several Jewish groups who had planned to visit the country and are threatening to cancel due to Sunday’s cabinet decision.
“Several American [Jewish] Federations have said that members of delegations no longer want to come… I am against that. On the contrary, we need more delegations,” he says.
Earlier today, the Jewish Agency surprisingly cancelld a planned gala event at the Knesset to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was invited.
The agency’s board also passed an unprecedented resolution calling on the government to reinstate its previous commitment to create a permanent prayer platform for non-Orthodox Jews.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 26, 2017
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
