Benjamin Netanyahu gives in to ultra-Orthodox pressure and stops Western Wall deal to allow men and women to pray together

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is under fire from liberal Jews and some of his own ministers after reneging on an agreement to allow men and women to pray together in front of the Western Wall.

Giving in to pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties within his coalition government, Mr Netanyahu went back on a deal struck last year to create an “egalitarian prayer space” where the sexes could worship together. 

The decision drew condemnation from more Jewish progressive groups in Britain and the US and criticism from some of Mr Netanyahu’s own cabinet ministers, who warned that it would deepen the divide between Israel and Jews overseas. 

“Yesterday’s decision will precipitate disharmony between Jews both in Israel and elsewhere in the Jewish world. It is a Chillul HaShem, a desecration of God’s name,” said Jonathan Arkush, the president of the Board of Deputies, the body that represents British Jews. 

Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli defence minister, said the move was “a severe blow to the unity of the Jewish people” and called for it to be reversed. 

American Jewish groups also angrily denounced the move as “an unconscionable insult to the majority of world Jewry”. The Jewish Agency, a group that works to strengthen ties between Jews abroad and Israel, disinvited Mr Netanyahu from a gala dinner in protest.    

The Western Wall is one of the holiest sites in Judaism but it is governed under Orthodox rules, meaning that men and women have to pray in front of separate parts of the wall. 

More liberal American Jews from the Reform and Conservative schools have long demanded that a section be opened for mixed prayers. 

Mr Netanyahu agreed to a deal last year that would have created a mixed-gender space but the two ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition both protested and threatened to bring down the government if the plan went ahead. 

“I know that this is a sensitive issue, and yet I think that is an appropriate solution, a creative solution. Usually the most complex issues demand this type of solution,” he said at the time.

After months of stalling, the Israeli cabinet announced on Sunday that they were suspending the agreement.  

Yaakov Litzman, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah party, hailed the decision as a victory for a severely conservative Orthodox view of Judaism over the more Reform school widely practiced in the US and UK.   

“The government’s decision to freeze the Western Wall arrangement sends a clear message to the entire world: The Reform do not and will not have access or recognition at the Western Wall,” he said. 

Mr Netanyahu ordered two ministers to begin looking at a new arrangement but liberal Jewish groups said they would take the issue to court.  

The ultra-Orthodox parties have just 13 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament but they are often kingmakers within fragile coalition governments, allowing them to exert significant power over areas that are important to them. 

Shmuel Rosner, an Israeli columnist, said that the fight over the Western wall showed how committed the ultra-Orthodox were and that liberal Jews would have to step up their pressure if they hoped to succeed.  

“Are you willing to put your money, energy, dedication, where your mouth is? If not, move on – because the [ultra-Orthodox] just proved that for them this issue is really important,” he wrote.