Aug 5, 2024

outdoor prayer

Someone submitted a request to the City of Tel Aviv to get permission in advance of the upcoming holidays to allow for outdoor services on Yom Kippur as was done in years past. They are wisely trying to repeat of the mess that happened last year with all the fighting and conflict.

Fair enough.

The City of Tel Aviv reportedly has said no public prayer will be allowed. Go to shul if you want to pray. From what I understand they said that in years past it was only because of CoronaVirus issues and attempts to keep indoor gatherings small, if at all, so they allowed prayer gatherings outside, but before that and after that it is not and was not allowed.

Fair enough.

While I have no specific desire for them to allow prayer in the streets, I think they should be davening in shul in general and not int eh streets unless there are extenuating circumstances, I do think the person who made the request should either appeal the decision or appeal to the courts.  The City of Tel Aviv recently allowed public prayer for Muslims in public areas outdoors for a recent holiday (Chag HaKorban). If outdoor prayer can be allowed for Muslims, it should also be allowed for Jews.

Whatever is decided, I hope people can respect the final decisions and not have/cause a repeat of last years terrible situation.






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4 comments:

  1. Telling people to daven only in shuls on Yom Kippur is not practical. Most shuls are filled well beyond capacity, there are many people who want to daven on Yom Kippur but do not belong to a shul or do not have a shul nearby that can accommodate them.

    This is also not legislation against the religious or traditional population, these people regularly attend shul and belong to a shul which will be able to accommodate them. This legislation will mainly impact secular people who do not normally attend shul, yet would like to attend a service on Yom Kippur, without being forced to pay shul membership or buy a seat.

    I do not understand why people have an objection to public prayer. Tel Aviv hosts a secular Kabbalat Shabbat in public on Friday Nights, they allow Muslim prayer in public (as you mentioned), close streets for events like a Marathon or Pride parade, tolerate disruptive political demonstrations which block streets (this is not authorized, however the city renamed the square outside the Kirya "Democracy Square" as a show of support), yet if a significant number of people want to pray, the city seems unable to accommodate them.


    Shame on the Tel Aviv municipality, while the entire country has increased prayers over the past 10 months, the mayor of Tel Aviv is trying to drive the city in the opposite direction.

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    Replies
    1. It's just not true. Not only there were no public prayers before Covid, Tel Aviv in particular is chock full of huge shuls where nobody usually attends that can fill up on Yom Kippur

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    2. There were public prayers. No one cared until the crazies started up.

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    3. Well said.

      "Keep it in shul" (or church) is of course a common expression on the Left. It is of course inherently anti-religious.

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