Aryeh Deri
Aryeh DeriMiriam Alsterl/Flash 90

Following the government's decision to expand the non-Orthodox mixed prayer section, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri elucidated that the government will not give recognition to the Reform denomination.

"So long as we are in the position of power and influence, we can never give recognition to the Reform (movement)," Deri explained in an interview at the Haredi Radio Kol Chai. ''Although they are Jews, they will not get any recognition. In Judaism there is only one stream – the religious path of Moses and Israel."

According to him, the construction of a new extension at the Western Wall was a hard decision. "We're not used to vote against the government, now five ministers opposed." Deri was decisive even through the problematic nature of the decision: "The problem is the government's decision to set up a council that will ostensibly run the Wall complex, which will be composed of members of the Reform and Conservative (movements)."

Deri further explaining the legal constraint stating that "The High Court has the next two weeks to accord to an agreed outline, otherwise the court would require the Kotel Rabbi to situate the women in the square.”

"You have to understand that the Kotel Rabbi has been arguing for years in the courts saying that the ‘local customs’ are the existing prayer routines. The court has already rejected the main argument, saying that even if there is a local custom, there is no exclusive Orthodox interpretation. Unfortunately, the court does not play the regular political game".