Israel against the Jews

[paserbyp]

WHO is allowed to pray where at the Western Wall in Jerusalem? An answer to this fantastically vexed question was found last year, and a deal was struck. But last month the Israeli government decided to halt its implementation. This has opened an unusual rift between the Jewish state and the world’s largest Jewish community, in the United States.

According to a “historic compromise” overseen by the government in January 2016, the main plaza in front of the Western Wall would remain under the administration of ultra-Orthodox rabbis. But non-Orthodox Jews would be allocated a separate section, currently an archaeological site, which would be upgraded at public expense.

But ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition of Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, were up in arms. They regard progressive Jews as perverting Judaism. And with 13 seats out of his 66-member coalition (the Knesset has 120 members), they have enough leverage to reverse government policy.

According to the Pew Research Centre, most American Jews are affiliated with the two progressive streams of Judaism, with 35% identifying themselves as Reform and 18% Conservative. Only one in ten American Jews are Orthodox. By contrast in Israel, religious life is monopolised by Orthodox Judaism even though most Israelis are not actively affiliated with a particular religious stream: they define themselves as secular or vaguely “traditional”. Few of them are much interested in these issues and the 10% of Israeli Jews who are ultra-Orthodox wield disproportionate political power by voting for parties that are willing to bring down the government over matters of state and religion.

Israel presents itself both as the Jewish state and the only nation in the Middle East which allows members of all faiths freedom of worship at their holy sites. It is odd, therefore, that so many Jews are not allowed to pray according to their customs at the Western Wall. “Bibi is supposed to be the guy who knows American Jews best,” said an Israeli official involved in talks with the Jewish diaspora, of the MIT-educated prime minister. “He sure misread them this time.” Or just as likely, the man who has claimed to represent all the world’s Jews is more interested in his own political survival.