Last week, Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox leaders, together with the Israeli government, reached a compromise—years in the making—over the ever-controversial issue of non-Orthodox prayer at the Western Wall. The agreement, authorizing the expansion of the space allocated to non-Orthodox prayer, is a significant achievement, argues Ben Sales, though it has yet to be turned into a reality:
What’s historic here are not the particulars of the deal but the fact that it was made [at all]. For nearly three decades, a coalition of women’s-rights advocates and non-Orthodox Jews waged a fight against Israel’s Orthodox establishment. Now, the sides have signed a peace treaty—with the government’s imprimatur. Save for a breakaway faction of Women of the Wall, every party involved has endorsed this deal.
When it comes to [questions of] religion and state [in Israel], that’s really rare. No recent religious legislation—from the expansion of military conscription to 2014’s failed conversion reform—achieved this level of consensus.
But the agreement won’t mean much until it’s implemented, which is why I’ll [only] believe in the expansion when I see it.
Read more on JTA: http://www.jta.org/2016/01/31/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/why-the-western-wall-compromise-matters-and-doesnt