Fighting broke out in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square Sunday night as Yom Kippur began with the Kol Nidrei prayer and some worshipers tried to set up partitions to separate men and women, which the Tel Aviv municipality and the High Court of Justice had banned because it was a public space.
The announcement by some worshipers that the service would separate the sexes caused controversy right up to the holiest day of the year. Some groups petitioned the Tel Aviv courts to overrule the separation ban, but the petitions were rejected by the High Court.
As the prayer service began, protesters showed up to demonstrate against gender segregation, and the disagreement devolved into fighting.
Similar incidents occurred on Monday when worshipers tried to create gender segregation in public spaces for the prayer service that concludes the fast day.
Israel’s coalition members’ statements on the protests
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly criticized the protesters after Yom Kippur.
“The people of Israel wanted to unite on Yom Kippur in prayer for forgiveness and unity,” he said. “To our surprise, in the Jewish nation, on the holiest Jewish day, left-wing protesters rioted against Jews as they prayed. It seems that there are no limits, no norms, and there is no exception from hatred for the left-wing extremists. I, like most of Israel’s citizens, reject this. There is no room for such violent behavior among us.
“While millions of Jews in Israel prayed in synagogues and in public spaces, fasted, united, asked forgiveness, and connected to the roots of our culture, a handful of violent barn burners backed by [opposition leader] Yair Lapid lit a fire and disgraced the holy day,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “I have no doubt that the vast majority of the people, from the Left and the Right, shun them entirely. At the end of Yom Kippur, I call on all of us not to get dragged into these provocations and the continuation of hate and discord. We are Jews. We are brothers.”
“While millions of Jews in Israel prayed in synagogues and in public spaces, fasted, united, asked forgiveness, and connected to the roots of our culture, a handful of violent barn burners backed by [opposition leader] Yair Lapid lit a fire and disgraced the holy day.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich
“This Yom Kippur, we saw haters trying to exile Judaism from the public spaces,” said National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. “Israel is a Jewish nation and a democratic one. On Thursday, I will hold an evening prayer service in the square. The public is invited.”
He did not mention whether this service would be segregated.
Health and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel called the protest illegitimate and referred to the protesters as hooligans.
“The events of Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv evoke sorrow and deep sadness,” he said. “My nation has chosen division. [The nation] is no longer Jewish and democratic.”
“The protests on the Jewish day against the prayers of Jews in the heart of Tel Aviv are heartbreaking,” said Shas leader Arye Deri. “Unfortunately, all the lines were crossed, and all that united us is broken. Jews against Jews in the heart of the country. We cannot be okay with this.”
While coalition members condemned and blamed the fighting on the protesters, opposition members condemned those who tried to segregate the service.
Response to coalition members
Lapid accused Netanyahu of inciting against the protesters and said his job as prime minister was to calm the situation.
“What happened this Yom Kippur is mainly awful and sad,” he said. “Over the years, this was a day of mutual respect and consideration of each other’s feelings. Whoever wanted to pray separately went to synagogue. Whoever wanted to pray together, prayed outside. No one tried to force their Judaism on others.
“This was until messianic and racist groups from the outside tried to force their Judaism on us. We don’t need instructions from anyone on how to be Jewish. It’s a shame that they turned this wonderful and holy day into another Israeli fight.”
National Unity leader Benny Gantz also accused Netanyahu of incitement.
“For 75 years, the vast majority of Israelis managed to reach agreements on the public sphere on Yom Kippur in which it was personalized per community,” he said. “For 75 years, the public respected one another despite their differences and didn’t insert politics into Yom Kippur. Now, those who decided to separate us managed to desecrate this holy day too with compulsion and hatred. And none other than the prime minister, the biggest generator of hate, is the one who is now stoking the flames together with politicians who decided to turn our public spaces into a disaster area.
“I call on all the leaders to act responsibly and stop the slanderous discourse and actions. To the public, I want to say that there is logic in allowing the public space to be managed according to the character of the general population, and in this case, I think the correct decision was made in authorizing the Tel Aviv municipality to decide the rules.”
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said the nature of the city was at stake in the conflict.
“I want to clarify clearly – I will not let the nature of our city be changed,” he said. “In Tel Aviv, there is no place for gender segregation in the public sphere. Those who don’t respect the municipality’s instructions and the law won’t be given approvals for activities in the city’s public spaces.”
Former religious services minister Matan Kahana called for calm.
“I turned on my phone after Yom Kippur,” he wrote. “Instead of reading articles about what happened on this day 50 years ago and how we united against those who came to destroy us, I read about wars between us in Tel Aviv. Now is the time for calm, for all of us.”
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