MK Meir Porush explains to Arutz Sheva why he decided to sit on the floor of the Constitution Committee's discussion room and read Psalms in response to a provocation by the Women of the Wall organization and MK Gilad Kariv.
"I think every Jew wants to pray at the Western Wall and is not looking for demonstrations or provocations. The chairman of the Constitution Committee, Gilad Kariv, and his group are looking for that. Today in the middle of the Rosh Chodesh prayer in the synagogue I heard what he was doing and I said to myself that I must protest in the face of this great pain. I did not consult with anyone. I decided that if this man runs the Constitution Committee and does not allow us to pray at the Western Wall, he will not be able to run the committee," says Porush.
When asked if he does not believe Reform Jews should have a place to pray at the Western Wall, Parush replies: "I do not think they want or seek to pray. According to them, they do not recognize the sanctity of the Western Wall and the word 'Zion' has been removed from their prayer. There is a desire to quarrel here. Gilad Kariv is here to fight with haredi Judaism. Why did he come to the Western Wall with the Torah for the women's reading? He could do these things in his own house."
"The Western Wall does not only belong to the haredim and every Jew can come to the Western Wall, but there must be order," Porush adds. "There are arrangements and Gilad Kariv came to do provocative actions that hurt most worshipers. He came to change and interfere so I came to the Constitution Committee to read Psalms. If he continues to go to the Western Wall and interfere with prayers I will continue to come to his committee and interfere with him."
Porush was asked if there is a chance that the haredi parties will join the coalition.
"What did this coalition do to make me want to be a part of it?" He wonders. "No one is really offering us a chance to enter the government. After all, even if someone wants to make an offer, Liberman - who is the landlord - threatens to dismantle the government. They do not offer and do not want us."
"Can I be in a coalition with Gilad Karib who is going to make revolutions at the Western Wall? Can I sit with this group from Meretz that is going to Ramallah? I am an emissary of the heads of the yeshivas and the rabbis. There is no possibility of being in the coalition in which they signed agreements to operate public transportation on Shabbat, to harm the sanctity of life and everything that is sacred and precious to us. This is not a game. We must stand up and keep them from harming the haredi public and the holy things of the people of Israel," he concludes.