Chairman Natan Sharansky of the Jewish Agency for Israel has issued a statement expressing his disappointment in the cabinet's freezing of the creation of an egalitarian prayer area at the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem. He explained, “Five years ago, the Prime Minister asked me to lead a joint effort to bring about a workable formula that would transform the Western Wall into, in his own words, ‘one wall for one people. After four years of intense negotiations, we reached a solution that was accepted by all major denominations and was then adopted by the government and embraced by the world's Jewish communities.
“Today’s decision signifies a retreat from that agreement and will make our work to bring Israel and the Jewish world closer together increasingly more difficult. The Jewish Agency nevertheless remains staunchly committed to that work and to the principle of one wall for one people.”