Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Sunday called on lawmakers to vote in favor of a bill giving the Chief Rabbinate full control over prayer at all parts of the Western Wall when it lands before the Knesset later this week, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelling a meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, so as not to lend official backing to the controversial measure.

“A few minutes ago, I received the announcement from the Government Secretariat that the meeting of the ministerial committee [for legislation] had been canceled. Since there is no government stance on this matter, I plan to vote for the bill. I urge all MKs, especially those in the coalition, to join me and send a clear message to the High Court: Enough is enough,” said Levin.

The statement came only minutes after Netanyahu instructed Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs to cancel the meeting, reportedly due to Levin’s refusal to withdraw the bill, sponsored by far-right MK Avi Maoz, from consideration. He was reportedly concerned about backlash from Diaspora Jewish organizations, particularly in the United States, which have long pushed for greater freedom of worship at the Jerusalem holy site.

Maoz’s proposal is intended to undercut last Thursday’s High Court of Justice ruling that the state must move forward with the upgrade of the Western Wall egalitarian plaza, which would allow non-Orthodox prayers at a lesser-used portion of the holy site. The upgrade was part of the Western Wall Compromise agreed to by Netanyahu’s government a decade ago, which called for a pluralistic prayer platform at the site.

The new bill would give the country’s two chief rabbis ultimate authority over the so-called “Ezrat Israel” and define any activity at the site contrary to their instructions, such as non-Orthodox worship, as a “desecration.”

Responding to the cancellation, Maoz tweeted that he would bring the bill for a preliminary reading on Wednesday and called “upon all members of the Knesset to stand up and vote for the integrity of the Western Wall and against the High Court.”

Coalition whip Ofir Katz subsequently announced in a statement that “the coalition will be able to vote according to the dictates of their conscience.”

A spokesman for Netanyahu told The Times of Israel that the prime minister had “allowed freedom of voting.”

Asked about the cancellation of Sunday’s meeting, a spokesman for Levin replied, “You’ll have to ask Yossi Fuchs why he ordered the cancellation.”

Fuchs did not respond to a request for comment.

In a joint statement, the Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Otzma Yehudit parties all said that they “will support the Western Wall law that will be put to a vote on Wednesday. It was so in the past, and it will be so now.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party also announced it would vote in favor of the bill.

“As Religious Zionism chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced immediately after the High Court of Justice ruling, the Religious Zionism faction will vote in favor of a law that will ensure the integrity of the Western Wall and preserve its sanctity,” the party said in a statement.

Maoz’s bill prompted harsh criticism from opposition politicians and representatives of more liberal Jewish groups.

“As long as Netanyahu allows the coalition to support Avi Maoz’s extremist proposal, there is no meaning in canceling the ministerial committee discussion,” a spokesman for Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee head MK Gilad Kariv (The Democrats), a former leader of the Reform Movement in Israel, told The Times of Israel.

“Netanyahu must decide whether he is serving the interests of the clear and overwhelming majority of the Jewish people or of a group of extremists who seek to ignite a fire among the Jewish people precisely in the midst of a terrible wave of antisemitism that does not distinguish between denominations and communities.”

World Zionist Organization Vice Chairman Yizhar Hess, the former CEO of the Masorti movement, warned that “this extreme proposal by Avi Maoz, seemingly with the support of Justice Minister Levin,” would, if passed, “be a declaration of war on world Jewry that has stood by Israel’s side these past challenging years.”

The Women of the Wall activist group called the bill “another slap in the face” of millions of Diaspora Jews, sending a message that “either you accept the separatist Haredi way in which the Western Wall is managed or you do not belong with us.”

Speaking with The Times of Israel, Uri Regev, the founder of the religious rights group Hiddush, said that Netanyahu is the only member of the current Israeli leadership “who actually understands American Jewry” and the “serious consequences in terms of a backlash not just from the Reform or Conservative movement but from general leadership of the organized Jewish community.”

However, he said, the prime minister is stuck trying to appease increasingly demanding ultra-Orthodox partners.

“Israel is at a crossroads, and we cannot avoid it anymore. The frequency of the conflicts is too great. Israel will have to choose which direction it is taking, and the Kotel is just one key example of a greater existential dilemma that Israel is facing,” Regev said.

Netanyahu was also criticized by Otzma Yehudit MK Yitzhak Kroizer, who accused him of caving to pressure during an interview with Channel 14.

According to the pro-government TV network, Netanyahu and coalition whip Katz agreed that the bill will pass its preliminary hearing before becoming bogged down in committee. A spokesman for Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the report.

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