Bennett Raises Ire as He Meets Reform and Conservative Leaders

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett convened on Monday morning with Reform and Conservative leaders, from Israel and North America, in the first such meeting since former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu withdrew from the Kosel agreement five years ago.

In the hour-and-a-half-long meeting, there was no concrete promise from Bennett on the deal’s implementation apart from physical improvements to the site.

The meeting was slammed by UTJ MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni, who used the well known quote from the Gemara: “Not for naught did the starling go to the raven, but because it is its kind,” as it too is a non-kosher bird.

UTJ MK Rabbi Yaakov Asher commented on the meeting: “After embarrassing himself with his pretentiousness to offer to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, Bennett is trying to mediate the Reform on their destructive invasion of the religious institutions in Israel. The Bennett government is turning itself into the red carpet on which the Reform will enter for the first time on their way to destroying the Jewish character in the Land of Israel.”

MK Avi Maoz said, “All the masks are being removed, one after the other. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his Cabinet ministers continue with their dangerous ideology, to give a foothold to the Reform group in Israel, and to that end he is meeting with the Reform leaders. The purpose of all the changes that Minister Kahana is making in matters of religion and state is to engineer the consciousness of the citizens of Israel as if the Reform are another legitimate stream in Judaism. The people of Israel are smarter than you; they know there is only one real Judaism and therefore you will not succeed.”