Even before the historic Kotel agreement was reached, the Internet was flooded with information and opinions about the compromise. RRFEI has compiled and categorized many pieces on our website here: [link], in both Hebrew and English, recognizing that the Hebrew articles reflect the feelings of Israelis who have taken a stand on these issues, which may not have been reported upon in the English media. We hope you’ll take the time to explore these informational and opinion pieces, and share others with us to include on the RRFEI website.
The controversy has been sharp, sometimes even harsh, and many have made conflicting factual and/or legal claims in regard to the Kotel agreement and its broader context. If you encounter a murky issue related to the compromise, which you would like to have clarified, RRFEI would be glad to provide you with further analysis and accurate information. Please contact us at organizers@rrfei.org with your questions, suggestions & comments – we look forward to hearing from you.
Below, we present you with an outline of arguments – in favor, against, and ambivalent toward the compromise, as well as several illustrative quotations. The resource links on the RRFEI website are organized according to these categories, as of Monday, February 8; we hope to add additional links and flesh out the arguments further with your input.
- IN FAVOR OF THE AGREEMENT
- Good for pluralism / diaspora relations
- Change in the right direction towards religious freedom
- Support for total separation (Orthodox from Heterodox)
“Creating an egalitarian prayer space at the Wall is a small step, and in some ways a mostly symbolic one. But it is important nonetheless. Since what is done in one small area can be expanded to others, it creates a legal and administrative precedent for equality among the religious streams. And it serves as a grudging acknowledgment by Israel’s government that Diaspora Jews matter. Jews throughout the world have fought for these changes; they are Israel’s partners, and they will not tolerate being told that their Jewish way of life does not count in the Jewish state.” -Rabbi Eric Yoffie
- OPPOSED TO THE AGREEMENT
- The agreement is a betrayal of Modern Orthodox women and women’s prayer groups at traditional Kotel plaza
“We have no objection, of course, to prayer at Robinson’s for those who wish it. We reject any deal that would infringe upon, let alone deny, the hardearned and historic rights of Jewish women at the Kotel. No one can concede someone else’s rights. Anyone who says she speaks for us in doing so, does not. We say clearly: any deal that delegitimizes, let alone bars, tefillah in our minhag at the Kotel has no bearing on us. We stay at the Kotel. -Dr. Shulamit Magnus
- The agreement is damaging to Jewish unity:
- Unity will be achieved through diversity
- Unity will be achieved through religious uniformity
- Unity will be achieved through cultural uniformity
- The agreement is a capitulation to the ultra-Orthodox establishment / Robinson’s Arch is “less than” the traditional Kotel plaza
“The time has come that we take responsibility for what happens to the Kotel. It can’t be that the same Kotel, which we all have pictures of, which my grandparents had a picture of at home… that when we arrive to the Land of Israel and the State of Israel, we decide that the Kotel will not belong to all of us; rather it will belong only to one small group.” -MK Rachel Azaria
- The State of Israel should not recognize or validate the non-Orthodox streams
- The pluralistic plaza violates Waqf jurisdiction over Jerusalem’s holy places
- This is A hollow victory in the war over religion-state in Israel
- AMBIVALENT TOWARDS THE AGREEMENT
- The Western Wall is not the most important religion & state issue in Israel / The agreement may distract from other issues of religion & state
- The agreement may be damaging to Jewish unity
- It is unlikely to lead to further necessary policy changes
“While we celebrate, it is important to remember that the issue of prayer at the Kotel is only one of many in the arena of religious freedom. Its impact on Israeli citizens is relatively limited. In other areas changes have usually been for the worse. The tyranny of the Rabbinate over marriage and divorce is ongoing, denying hundreds of thousands of citizens the right to family and denying women their right to equality and dignity…” -Rabbi Uri Regev