Avi Maoz Slams Government Over Women of the Wall Prayer at the Western Wall

Noam Party leader MK Avi Maoz sharply criticized the coalition on Tuesday after Women of the Wall held a Rosh Chodesh prayer service at the Western Wall. He said the scene was taking place “under the auspices of the government” and accused the government of blocking issues tied to Israel’s Jewish identity.

Maoz said the coalition is refusing to advance the Western Wall bill he initiated, which he said would define the entire Western Wall as holy and require prayer and local custom there to follow the Chief Rabbinate. He also argued that the government is not seriously confronting the High Court of Justice ruling requiring it to quickly promote the southern section of the Wall for Reform prayer.

“The disgrace we saw here this morning is taking place under the auspices of the government, which is unfortunately blocking anything related to the Jewish identity of the state,” Maoz said. “They do not really want to fight the Supreme Court.”

He added that he is deeply disappointed with the current government’s handling of Jewish identity issues. With elections approaching, he said this is the government’s “last chance” to fix the situation and pass his Western Wall bill, but warned that it appears likely to miss that opportunity as well.