The decision to establish an egalitarian prayer area at the Western Wall on seemingly same terms as the two Orthodox ones that are now there (one for women and one for men) may be theologically dubious in the eyes of some of us, but it has been politically most effective. Some of the evidence can be found in the outrageous and often vulgar reactions by spokesmen of Israeli Orthodoxy.
They’re particularly active these days because the (Reform) Central Conference of American Rabbis is having its annual conference in Israel. Leading Reform rabbis have even met as an official delegation with Prime Minister Netanyahu who has been surprisingly supportive of late. His Orthodox cabinet colleagues are said to have been outraged and, I surmise, some of his less Orthodox colleagues are less than enthusiastic, probably at least part out of fear of a coalition break-up.
Read Full Article »