Labor MK and Reform Rabbi Gilad Kariv said on Sunday that Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahana doesn’t have the authority to abandon the Kosel Compromise Plan following the report on Sunday that Kahana and Bennett made a decision to freeze the plan.

“The Kotel compromise was discussed directly with the president along with the prime minister and his office,” Kariv said in a statement. “The issue is not at all within Minister Kahana’s domain. As stated to the Supreme Court several days ago, the current government is committed to the process of establishing an egalitarian and state-owned tefillah plaza at the Kotel.”

“A clear majority of Knesset members from the coalition and the opposition support the plan,” Kariv claimed. “We will stand by its advancement without playing into the hands of those who use incitement and hate speech for short-term political gains.”

Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, who chose to light the first Chanukah licht at the empty egalitarian section of the Kosel, also issued a statement in response to the report.

“A government that wants to last is first and foremost advised to respect coalition agreements,” Shai said. “The government of Israel will continue to strive for the implementation of the Kotel compromise. As long as Labor is in the government, we will work toward equality for all streams of Judaism. This issue is far from the responsibility of Kahana’s office, and rightly so,” Shai asserted.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)