The Struggle for Equal Prayer at the

Western Wall (Kotel) – Current Status

Today, the Kotel plaza exists in every respect as an ultra-Orthodox synagogue. Prayer at the Wall is permitted only with gender separation, which reflects the practice of only a small segment of the Jewish public in Israel and around the world. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation is the body responsible for administration for all matters concerning the Kotel and enforces Orthodox religious practices.

Anyone who prays differently encounters violence. The fact that there is no freedom of religion at the Kotel is inconceivable.

Implementation of the Kotel Agreement was meant to enable every individual to pray according to their belief, recognizing that there is more than one way to be a Jew.

 What Is the Kotel Agreement?
The Kotel Agreement is a framework regulating prayer arrangements at the Kotel. It was formulated in January 2016 by a team headed by Attorney Avichai Mandelblit (then Cabinet Secretary), Attorney Dina Zilber, and Attorney Zvi Hauser, and was approved by the Netanyahu government on January 31, 2016.

The framework was approved after an arduous three-year negotiation process initiated by then–Prime Minister Netanyahu and then–Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky.

Participants in the negotiations included representatives of the Reform Movement, the Conservative Movement, Women of the Wall,  the Chief Rabbis, and the Rabbi of the Kotel.

The framework was approved by the government with a majority of 15 ministers in favor and 5 opposed. Representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties did not vote in favor but did not veto its passage.

 What Did the Kotel Agreement Include?
The framework included several components designed to create one Kotel with two prayer plazas, one gender-separated and one mixed, egalitarian plaza:

1. Establishment of a shared entrance to the Kotel, from which worshippers could proceed either to the gender-separated plaza or to the egalitarian plaza.

2. Establishment of a dignified and state-recognized egalitarian prayer plaza at the southern section (“Ezrat Yisrael”), accessible and visibly connected to the existing main plaza.

3. Formal regulations defining the egalitarian plaza as part of the Kotel, with prayer practices conducted in accordance with principles of gender equality and pluralism (while allowing Women of the Wall to hold separate women’s prayer services there on Rosh Chodesh).

4. Management of the egalitarian plaza by a public council chaired by the Chair of the Jewish Agency, including representatives of the Reform and Conservative movements and Women of the Wall, appointed by the Prime Minister to represent worshippers at the site.

5. Allocation of budgets for maintenance of the egalitarian plaza and for public awareness and marketing of its existence.

 What Happened After Government Approval?
Although ultra-Orthodox politicians agreed not to block the framework’s passage in the government, following its approval an intense campaign against it began in the ultra-Orthodox press.

As a result of the backlash, the Agreement was frozen shortly after it was approved.

In June 2017, the Netanyahu government formally decided to freeze the Kotel Agreement. At the same time, however, Netanyahu instructed the Cabinet Secretary to act swiftly to build and develop the southern prayer plaza (Robinson’s Arch site) an instruction that remains formally in effect but has not been implemented to this day.

 A petition seeking implementation of the Kotel Agreement has been pending before the High Court of Justice for nearly a decade.

What Is the Situation Today at the Kotel?

Today, the main Kotel plaza is gender-separated.

Anyone who prays in a manner different from ultra-Orthodox custom, such as Women of the Wall, encounters violence, often backed by stewards of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.

 Outside the main plaza lies the “Ezrat Yisrael” section, established in 2013 by then–Minister of Religious Affairs Naftali Bennett as an egalitarian prayer space. However, it does not constitute a true alternative to the main plaza:

• The state does not fund the site.

• The entrance is hidden and easy to miss. Unlike the substantial budgets dedicated to publicizing the main plaza, the egalitarian section is not publicized, and many people are unaware of its existence.

• There has been no access to the actual stones of the Kotel from this section since a stone fell in the summer of 2018.

• Unlike the gender-separated plaza, whose conduct is governed by formal regulations, there are no regulations ensuring that prayer in the egalitarian section adheres to principles of gender equality and pluralism. There have been incidents where ultra-Orthodox groups arrived and erected a mechitza (partition).

Public worshipers in the plaza are also not represented in the body that manages the site.

What Happened at the Most Recent High Court Hearing (February 17, 2026)?

After three years, a hearing was held on the petitions. Ahead of the hearing, the state reiterated that the only component of the Kotel Agreement it is willing to implement is the construction element, renovation and expansion of the egalitarian plaza, and restoration of access to the stones of the Kotel from the egalitarian plaza (which has not been possible since 2018).

Both matters depend on building permits from the Jerusalem Municipality, which has delayed the issue for years.

In its decision of February 19, 2026, the High Court ordered the state and the Jerusalem Municipality to advance the two building permit requests on an expedited timetable and to submit an update to the Court within 90 days.

Following the ruling, government officials, including Justice Minister Yariv Levin (who himself supported the Agreement when it was approved in 2016), sharply criticized the Court, despite the fact that the Court merely ordered implementation of the Prime Minister’s 2017 directive, which according to the state’s updated position still reflects his stance.

Legislative Countermove – The Proposed Bill

In March 2023, MK Avi Maoz introduced a bill seeking to amend the Protection of Holy Places Law and establish two far-reaching and severe changes:

1. The existing law states: “Whoever desecrates or otherwise violates a holy site shall be liable to seven years’ imprisonment.”

The proposed amendment defines desecration as conduct contrary to the directives and rulings of the Chief Rabbinate.

1. The current law provides that the Minister of Religious Services is responsible for implementation and may, after consulting with representatives of the relevant religions and with the consent of the Minister of Justice, enact regulations.
   The proposed amendment stipulates that, for this purpose, the Chief Rabbis, as defined in the Chief Rabbinate Law, 1980, shall be deemed the representatives of the Jewish religion.

The bill was scheduled for discussion in the Ministerial Committee for Legislation on February 22, 2026, but according to reports the meeting was canceled due to the Prime Minister’s opposition

The bill was approved in a preliminary reading at the Knesset plenum on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 (56 voted for, 47 against).

If enacted, the bill would enshrine in legislation the authority of the Chief Rabbinate over the Kotel, something never previously done, and determine that any prayer not in accordance with the Rabbinate’s position, including Reform and Conservative prayer and the prayer of Women of the Wall, would constitute a criminal offense punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment. Men and women praying together, a woman reading from the Torah, women wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt in the upper plaza, a group of TAGLIT students singing together at the upper plaza, all that would be forbidden.

This represents a severe violation of the rights to equality and freedom of religion of millions of liberal Jews in Israel and the Diaspora with respect to the holiest site of the Jewish people.

TAKE ACTION! Wherever you are in the world take part in ARZA’s Letter Writing Campaign: Send an email to your local Israeli representative and Take a Stand Against the Kotel Bill

LISTEN to Orly Erez-Likhovski and Rabbi Josh Weinberg break this down for you!