Just recently, two things happened in Tel Aviv. Two things that are seemingly polar opposites of each other and maybe even make Tel Aviv seem bipolar.

One thing that happened in Tel Aviv is that the relevant municipal committee expanded the allowance of kiosks to open on Shabbos. While previously permits for operation had been given to 164 kiosks and shops, they have now approved increasing that number and have issued 273 permits. Not a great thing, to put it mildly, from a religious perspective.

The other thing that happened is the City of Tel Aviv came up with a plan for all shuls in the city to be able to get renovations done that would resolve safety deficiencies in the shul structures. The city called on shuls to register for the new program so that the municipality can get all the issues renovated and resolved before the upcoming holidays, to ensure people will be safe during the holiday rush in the shuls.

After just over a day, 55 shuls in Tel Aviv (out of 450 registered shuls in the city) had already filed to take advantage of the program. As part of this program, the City of Tel Aviv will fix tiling repairs, fencing, adding benches and trash receptacles, cleaning courtyards and pruning trees.

The mayor, Ron Huldai, said that shuls in Tel Aviv should be accessible and taken care of and safe. Even though the city does not own the shuls, it does find it important to provide this service to help tens of thousands of residents of the city. Pretty good from a religious perspective.

Seemingly opposite ends of the spectrum, but it shows the coexistence that is possible.