(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israeli government released a plan on Sunday to oversee the development of a new, temporary egalitarian space at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to be called the “Israeli section” or “Israeli extension.” The new area, which would be situated adjacent to the existing plaza, was planned for nontraditional Jewish streams, including Women of the Wall. Women of the Wall immediately dismissed the initiative  saying, “The expansion has no connection to the sanctity of the Western Wall.”

The government would build the new space at Robinson’s Arch. It is meant to serve as a temporary solution until the Sharansky plan — named after its author, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky—is implemented and a permanent area is built. Sharansky welcomed the plan as a temporary solution to the demands of Women of the Wall and other nontraditional Jews seeking a more egalitarian space at the holy site.