Dear Friends,
Last week, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the government must finally uphold its commitments to the Egalitarian Kotel (Ezrat Yisrael) in Jerusalem. In response, members of the governing coalition in the Knesset have advanced legislation that would place all areas of the Kotel under the authority of the ultra-Orthodox Chief Rabbinate. If enacted, this bill would effectively eliminate the legal standing of the egalitarian section. Worship that does not conform to the Rabbinate’s standards would be punishable by up to seven years in prison.
This is not a theoretical debate about policy or ideology. It is deeply personal for many of us.
It would mean that families like yours could no longer celebrate an egalitarian bat or bar mitzvah at the Kotel without fear of sanction. It would mean that women seeking to read from the Torah, Birthright Israel groups marking milestones together, and Conservative/Masorti and Reform Jews who pray according to our tradition could find themselves shut out.
We are working closely with leaders across the Conservative/Masorti and Reform movements — both in North America and Israel — to ensure that our voices are heard in the Knesset. Together with the leadership of the Union for Reform Judaism, we have co-authored a column in major Jewish news outlets outlining what is at stake and why this moment demands attention. We call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to stand with us — as we have stood with Israel — in protecting the religious pluralism that strengthens the Jewish people.
Please join us for an Emergency Zoom Meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb. 25) at 1:30 PM ET / 10:30 AM PT with Tammy Gottlieb, who was arrested for reading Torah at the Kotel last week. Tammy is the MERCAZ representative on the WZO Executive Board and Vice Chairwoman of Women of the Wall. Please register here.
We will continue to keep you informed as this unfolds.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal
CEO, Rabbinical Assembly and USCJ
Eliot Meadow
President, USCJ
Rabbi Jay Kornsgold
President, Rabbinical Assembly
Rabbi Mauricio Balter
Executive Director, Masorti Olami and MERCAZ Olami
Yizhar Hess
Vice Chair, World Zionist Organization
Senior Representative of MERCAZ
Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz Fields
Executive Director, Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
Julia Loeb
President, Women’s League for Conservative Judaism | 
