U.S. Jewish groups, Israel reach Western Wall deal

Several American Jewish groups celebrated a recent Israeli government decision to greatly expand—and fund—a pluralistic and egalitarian prayer section adjacent to the Western Wall plaza as a first step toward official Israeli recognition of non-Orthodox streams of Judaism.

The Western Wall, or Kotel, the holiest site in Judaism after the Temple Mount, is a remnant of the second Jewish Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in the year 66.

The decision by Israel’s cabinet will lead to the creation of Israel’s first official prayer site for Jewish people who wish to pray in mixed-gender groups and for women who want to read from a Torah scroll.