An expanded, seven-judge panel of the Israeli Supreme Court convened Jan. 14 for a lengthy session on a contested issue tearing the Jewish people apart. Headed by Chief Justice Esther Hayut, the panel heard arguments in a suit brought by Reform and Conservative Jewish groups against the State of Israel, demanding that it implement the Western Wall outline.

The outline, a compromise, was first brought before the Cabinet in January 2016 and was approved by a large majority of ministers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, reneged on the agreement soon thereafter. The outline allows the creation of an egalitarian prayer area adjacent to the Western Wall — considered the holiest site for the Jewish people. Representatives of the Reform and Conservative movements will participate in managing the space, in which both genders could pray according to rituals of progressive Judaism.

While the outline has been put on hold, that is only the start of matters. The issue is driving a wedge between most American Jews, who identify with the Reform and Conservative denominations, and the State of Israel, which willingly submits to Orthodox Judaism by granting it an absolute monopoly over all matters pertaining to religion in Israel, including management of the Western Wall. The Western Wall is, in fact, at the forefront of this struggle, but the issues at stake are much larger.

Under Netanyahu, Israel has been distancing itself from most of world Jewry, much of which is concentrated in the United States. The crisis — pitting Israel against the Reform and Conservative communities, which make up the overwhelming majority of the estimated 5.5 million Jews living in the United States — is no longer a cosmetic issue, nor is it reversible. In private talks with diplomats and other officials, Netanyahu has already “given up” on American Jewry in its current state. He prefers his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, who consider Reform Jews to be gentiles or worse.