A stormy Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv: After the court upheld the Tel Aviv municipality's decision to prohibit gender segregation in public prayers at Dizengoff Square, worshippers erected a temporary sheet of cloth yesterday to separate the faithful at the Yom Kippur entrance prayer. This provoked a spontaneous secular protest that escalated into clashes and led to the cessation of prayer. The demonstrator who took down the partition was arrested for disturbing the peace and released a few hours later.
The event began in the late afternoon, when members of the Rosh Yehudi Yeshiva arrived to hold the prayer in Dizengoff Square. Despite the district court's decision and the rejection of their appeal to the Supreme Court, they tried to be clever and erected an improvised separation using flags.
Just before the fast begins: Clashes at Dizengoff Square over gender segregation during Kippur prayers // Photo: Eitan Elhadez/TPS
As a result, hundreds of Tel Aviv residents arrived and began demonstrating against gender segregation. One of them even took down the makeshift partition himself and was arrested by the police on suspicion of disturbing the peace. In addition, at one point, the protesters folded the chairs set up for the event and shouted "shame" at the worshippers during prayers. One of the protesters even took to the stage in the square with the pride flag and spread it in front of the worshippers.
Demonstrator against gender segregation in Dizengoff Square to worshippers: "There is an attack here in the public space" // Photo: Gideon Markowitz
The temporary partition erected in Dizengoff Square, photo: Gideon Markowitz
Moments of removal of the temporary partition erected in Dizengoff Square,
In light of the clashes and the commotion that began there, the prayer was stopped in the middle and the worshippers decided to leave.
Shimon, one of the demonstrators, said he was tired of religion taking over public spaces. "Let them pray in synagogues and make separation there, but not infiltrate the public space that belongs to everyone," Shimon said.
Moments of removal of the temporary partition erected in Dizengoff Square,
Clashes at Dizengoff Square against the backdrop of attempts to hold the Kippur prayer with gender segregation, photo: Gideon Markowitz
Clashes at Dizengoff Square during Yom Kippur prayers, photo: Gideon Markowitz
"It started a few years ago when they took over two synagogues in the area, most of whose population had died or left. During the corona, they arrived and began to take over Dizengoff Square, but without any separation and last year when the corona ended, they took over a small part of the square and today you will see they have already set up stages and separation, for this we are no longer prepared. It's like a cancer spreading. We're not the same suckers anymore," he added.
On the other hand, there were also secular Jews for whom the demonstration at the present time did them harm. There were those who said that this was the beginning of the end of the State of Israel and even argued with the demonstrators. One such person was Lilac, who came to the square with her 9-year-old son.
The demonstrators fold the chairs set up in honor of the Kippur prayer,
"I live here in the area and I've never been to synagogue with my child, I thought it would be nice. I would stand with him together, but if there are those for whom it's really important, I don't understand why they shouldn't be allowed it," Lilach said.
But the worshippers did not despair and some went to Habima Square to try and pray there, but even there they did not allow separation and fences used to separate men and women were moved by the demonstrators. At other junctions in Tel Aviv, such as at the intersection of Ibn Gvirol and Jabotinsky streets, prayers were held and discussion circles were held, but the events passed relatively quietly.
This evening as well, during the closing prayers, some of the worshippers came to Dizengoff Square, but because there was no separation, no one prevented the prayers in the square. During the prayers, some of the demonstrators sang "Sura darkness on the light" and also sang the national anthem. Verbal confrontations broke out between the protesters and some of the worshippers.
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