The Givatayim municipality and the city's community centers are planning to hold a "story hour" event this week for children aged between three and five, at which the "drag queen" Tequila Coster is scheduled to appear.
Coster's appearance is being billed as part of an event titled, "Family at the center ... that's the whole story."
Around half a year ago, another performance by Coster at the Haoman 17 nightclub shocked many Jews when he dressed in a semblance of tallit and tefillin and proceeded to mock the holy items in a lewd performance that was later widely disseminated on social media.
Following that incident, Attorney Michael Litvak of the Betsalmo organization sent a letter to the attorney-general, Gali Beharav-Miara, demanding that an investigation be opened against Coster for offending religious sensibilities, which is a criminal offense.
In his letter, Litvak noted that, "The Penal Code (section 173:13) establishes that a person who is found to have injured religious sensibilities can be sentenced to a year in prison. And there is no doubt that this performance, which reached thousands and possibly hundreds of thousands of Jews, caused serious injury to the religious sentiments of Jews in the State of Israel ... This law should not be applied solely when it concerns Muslim religious sensibilities. Throughout the generations, Jews have given up their lives for tallit and tefillin and now, to our distress, they are forced to see these holy items denigrated in some nightclub."
Responding to criticism of the "story hour" in Givatayim, the municipality issued a statement saying: "The activities concerned are based on one of our classic children's stories, a book by Dan Pagis called 'The Egg that Disguised Itself,' in search of a new identity. Story hour is being presented within the framework of 'family day' by a drag artist in disguise, just like the egg in the story disguises itself. The discussion will revolve around loving others, the importance of the family, and the confidence that family and friends provide to children and adults alike."