Inside Tel Aviv's restored Great Synagogue
Inside Tel Aviv's restored Great SynagogueMelissa Kohavi

The Tel Aviv municipality on Friday reversed an earlier decision to seize the assets of the city’s historic Great Synagogue.

On Thursday, the Great Synagogue of Tel Aviv’s president, Shlomo Pivko, announced that the historic house of prayer would be closing, noting that the City of Tel Aviv had seized the synagogue’s bank account to cover back taxes.

According to Behadrei Haredim, the synagogue owed a total of 2 million shekels ($550,000), for seven years’ worth of back taxes. While Pivko has raised hundreds of thousands of shekels to help stabilize the synagogue’s finances, he was unable to secure sufficient funds to pay off the debt.

"Unfortunately, I have to close the gates of the Great Synagogue. The Tel Aviv municipality, in the spirit of the Supreme Court ruling [permitting businesses to open on the Sabbath], looted the bank account in a brutal, brutal and aggressive way. Therefore, I have no choice but to close the gates to the Great Synagogue".

The report of the synagogue’s closure Thursday sparked a public outcry against the Tel Aviv municipality, with former minister Gideon Saar (Likud) intervening on behalf of the synagogue in meetings with Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.

On Friday the City of Tel Aviv reversed the decision, agreeing to lift restrictions on the synagogue’s bank account.

Pivko confirmed that the matter had been resolved and an understanding with the city reached over the synagogue’s debt.

“The problem has been solved and the City of Tel Aviv, including Mayor Ron Huldai, have reached an understanding with us. This coming Monday we will hold a big event [in the Great Synagogue] for Memorial Day [Yom Hazikaron] with [former Defense Minister] Moshe ‘Boogie’ Yaalon.”