Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly told journalists from the Jewish ultra-Orthodox sector on Tuesday that they would have to compromise on many social issues, such as the status of non-Orthodox Jewish streams in Israel and prayer rights at the Western Wall.

Netanyahu has been conducting personal off-the-record briefings with representatives of Israel’s major news outlets at his office over the past week. Several ultra-Orthodox-affiliated publications, such as Kikar Hashabbat, met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening. The meeting lasted over four hours, two hours longer than Netanyahu’s meeting with representatives of Channel Two News.

Netanyahu discussed his policy off-the-record with the journalists and according to reports this morning by several ultra-Orthodox journalists, he warned that unless their sector’s political parties in the Knesset manage to accept compromises on religious observance in the public sphere, the Israeli High Court of Justice is likely to impose rulings that would be even less desirable to the ultra-Orthodox politicians.

The main issue was reportedly the question of prayer rights at the Western Wall for progressive Jewish streams.

The Western Wall compound is currently under the full jurisdiction of the Israeli chief rabbinate, which is an exclusively Orthodox state institution run by individuals associated with the ultra-Orthodox sector. The rabbinate has consistently denied freedom of worship at the Western Wall to non-Orthodox religious streams, such as the Reform and Conservative Movements, and it has prevented women from having equal prayer rights, such as reading the Torah and wearing Jewish prayer shawls at the Western Wall plaza. 

Following negotiations between government representatives and those of the Jewish non-Orthodox community that went on for three months, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced in February that an agreement had been reached to expand the Western Wall plaza and to establish an egalitarian section open to all streams and denominations of Judaism.

However, the agreement has yet to be put in motion, mainly due to pressure by all three religious parties in Knesset—Shas, United Torah Judaism, and the Jewish Home. The delay so far has also incurred several petitions to the High Court of Justice and appeals to the Israeli Supreme Court.

Netanyahu reportedly warned the journalists that they would do better to accept the compromises agreed upon and to compromise further on religious legislation regarding observance of the Sabbath in the public sphere rather than face judicial intervention by the High Court of Justice.