Bennett government snubs egal site in Kotel funding

"How can it be that such a large sum is being allocated to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, while the Ezrat Israel [egalitarian prayer site] remains shameful and abandoned?"

 The The Western Wall Heritage Foundation's new ‘Western Wall Heritage Center’ (photo credit: THE WESTERN WALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION)
The The Western Wall Heritage Foundation's new ‘Western Wall Heritage Center’
(photo credit: THE WESTERN WALL HERITAGE FOUNDATION)

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's government approved allocations of NIS 110 million over five years for the Western Wall at Sunday's cabinet meeting, but not one shekel for its egalitarian prayer site that is in disrepair.

Cabinet secretary Shalom Shlomo met with Reform Conservative, Women of the Wall and Jewish Federations of North America representatives last Monday and told them he favored allocations to upgrade the egalitarian prayer site but implementing the 2016 Western Wall agreement would take time. 

"[The current allocations] have nothing to do with the Kotel framework," a source close to Bennett said. "This funding is intended for the regular operation of the Western Wall."

Deputy World Zionist Organization head Yizhar Hess, the former executive director of Israel's Masorti (Conservative) Movement, blasted the decision.

"The government's decision was shocking," he said. "How can it be that such a large sum is being allocated to the Western Wall Heritage Foundation [which administers the Western Wall], while the Ezrat Israel [egalitarian prayer site] remains shameful and abandoned. This is a tremendous missed opportunity for democracy, equality and Zionism. Instead of repairing the tension with world Jewry by implementing the Kotel deal, they leave them empty handed again." 

The allocations will go to physical upgrades of the Orthodox prayer site, making it more handicapped accessible, developing educational programs and encouraging more visits of students, soldiers and new immigrants. 

The move was seen as preempting a no-confidence motion about the Kotel filed by Shas that will be voted on in the Knesset plenum on Monday. Bennett defended the decision in the cabinet meeting.

"The Kotel is one of the most important sites for the Jewish people," he said. "This will enable millions more tourists to visit."