Tel Aviv mayor orders police to prevent gender segregated prayer organised by minister

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai has ordered police to prevent an illegal, gender segregated public prayer to take place at Dizengoff Square on Thursday. The prayer is organised by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. 

The Supreme Court upheld a decision by Tel Aviv municipality on Friday that bans gender segregated prayers from taking place in public places in the city.

Secular and orthodox Israelis clashed in several places across Israel on Yom Kippur when religious groups organised illegal gender segregated public prayers, despite the Supreme Court ruling.

Ben-Gvir announced he would come to Dizengoff Square, which saw the most intense clashes between secular and orthodox, to hold the illegal prayer.

“I say to those anarchists who tried to get rid of the worshippers on Yom Kippur that I and my colleagues in Otzma Yehudit are coming to the same spot this Thursday to pray the evening service. Let’s see you try to get rid of us,” he said.

Following Ben-Gvir’s announcement, Haaretz reported that Tel Aviv Mayor Huldai then sent a letter Tel Aviv police chief, Peretz Amar, urging police to prevent partitions, ribbons, ropes, and flags from segregating gender at the planned prayer.

“I expect the Tel Aviv District’s police officers to ensure that these instructions are upheld and not to lend a hand to disregard for a court’s decision. At this of all times, the heart of the holiday season, my only hope is that the national security minister’s prayer service will be conducted in a reasonable, appropriate fashion that upholds the law, without unnecessary provocations by anyone,” Huldai said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a statement following Ben-Gvir’s announcement, saying that “public leaders are expected to refrain from anything that doesn’t contribute to calm.”

Police failed on several occasions to adequately prevent gender segregated prayers in public spaces on Yom Kippur, even siding with the orthodox against secular demonstrators and thereby directly violating the law.

Ben-Gvir’s planned prayer is the latest example of an unraveling constitutional crisis in Israel, in which government officials continue to openly challenge the Supreme Court’s power and validity of its rulings.

According to the law, police will be expected to prevent Ben-Gvir (who oversees the police) from holding a gender segregated prayer on the square.