Western Wall
Western Wallצילום: רויטרס

In an interview with Arutz Sheva , Mati Dan, the director of Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva in Jerusalem's Old City responded to the court’s criticism of the government and stated that the court has no right to rule on religious matters.

Dan was reacting to criticism made by the High Court judges who demanded that the government implement the court's decision to make arrangements for non-orthodox women to pray at the Kotel.

“We are shocked by the court’s intervention in religious matters,” Dan said, “only the Chief Rabbinate should pass judgement upon religious matters. The Supreme Court has no right to meddle in religious matters or holy sites. That is the law and a line has been crossed. “

In response to the delay of the implementation of the court’s decision, Dan stated that, “An appeal to overturn the decision has been approved by the government due to the fact that the decision may be illegal. That is why the government has decided to delay its implementation.”

“The government should decide and not the High Court,” Dan emphasized, “Jerusalem is united, the Kotel needs to remain united. You can’t have one wall for Conservative Jews and one wall for Orthodox Jews.”

Mati Dan claims that the Chief Rabbis of Israel have been silenced saying, “I stand behind the Chief Rabbis of Israel who will stand by their principles.”