Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has a majority, at least on paper, to pass the Western Wall compromise. This compromise outline has been discussed for years inside Israel and in contacts with American Jewry leadership. It would allow liberal denominations of Judaism to pray at the site in keeping with their beliefs, including the full and equal participation of women.

In fact, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, who has been advocating for this, announced last week that he intends to push forward with the compromise proposal, which former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put on hold in 2017. Other supporters of the compromise include Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli and, of course, the leaders of left-wing Meretz. All of these ministers represent a predominantly secular, liberal electorate.

Nevertheless, passing the compromise would evidently put the government — and especially [national-religious] Bennett — on a collision course with the more traditional and ultra-Orthodox sectors. There is already a huge rift between Bennett and these communities because of his decision to join the government in the first place and promote reforms in the way religious services are provided in the country. Pushing forward with the Western Wall compromise would be the last straw, resulting in an acrimonious divorce.

While Bennett would prefer to see this whole issue buried, left-wing parties in his coalition are aligned with Liberman’s to move forward with this as part of their secular agenda. As a result, this veritable “hot potato” is fast making its way to the Prime Minister’s Office. Tensions regarding this issue were evident on Nov. 5 when violent clashes broke out at the site between Reform Jews and the ultra-Orthodox. It was only due to the emergency intervention of President Isaac Herzog that politicians from both sides of the divide avoided showing up at the Western Wall as well, since that would only have led to full-blown riots.