The Association of Community Rabbis petitioned the District Court today (Thursday) against the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, following its refusal to allow a mass Selichot ceremony to be held, separated by partitions, according to Halacha and tradition - on Tel Baruch Beach on Shabbat evening.
The union claims that while the municipality issued approval in principle for the event to take place, it made it conditional on a condition prohibiting any gender segregation by physical means - a condition that does not allow the prayer to be held as it should and violates the religious freedom of the participants.
Media personality Yinon Magal was furious: "They learned nothing from October 7th." Tel Aviv Municipality again bans gender-segregated Selichot event according to Halacha
""The Union of Community Rabbis and the Municipality of Linor are filing a petition with the Tel Aviv District Court against the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, following its refusal to allow a central Selichot ceremony to be held according to Halacha and tradition on Tel Baruch Beach on Shabbat evening.
""The event is planned for Saturday night - September 19, the eighth of Tishrei - with the participation of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the city rabbi Rabbi Zebadiah Cohen, neighborhood rabbis and a large audience.".
This is not the first time that the Tel Aviv municipality has taken this type of step. Two years ago, ahead of Yom Kippur, the municipality banned a segregated prayer by the Rosh Yehudi organization in Dzingoff Square, and the prayer itself was disrupted by dozens of left-wing protesters.
The following year, the conflict reached the court, which ruled that it was possible to pray separately on Yom Kippur, but ordered it to be moved to Gan Meir in Tel Aviv.
