Overview
- The High Court directed the government and Jerusalem Municipality to advance building permits and upgrades for the Ezrat Israel mixed‑gender prayer area, enforcing an earlier framework left unimplemented for years.
- The justices set firm timelines: the Antiquities Authority must decide within 14 days, permit applications must follow within the next 14 days, a 45‑day silence will count as rejection requiring appeal, and a status report is due to the court within 90 days.
- The court said existing approvals remain valid and rejected claims that new cabinet authorization is needed, describing the decision as a practical step to clear administrative bottlenecks rather than a ruling on prayer rights.
- Petitioners from the Reform and Masorti/Conservative movements and Women of the Wall welcomed the decision as a pluralism win, while the judiciary later clarified the order aligns with the government’s stated position to advance permits.
- Israel’s Chief Rabbis and coalition figures, including Aryeh Deri, Simcha Rothman, Bezalel Smotrich, and Yariv Levin, condemned the move and vowed to pursue legislation to restrict or overturn the court‑driven implementation.