Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai responded Sunday afternoon to the controversy surrounding the municipality’s demand that Orthodox synagogues sign a clause contradicting their faith.
"In Tel Aviv-Jaffa there are hundreds of synagogues operating in full and fruitful cooperation with the municipality," he wrote. "There is no basis to the lies being spread online today about the city, as if we threatened synagogues in the city. The clause in question was part of a standard municipal contract for the allocation of public buildings, and it has long since been revised and resolved in coordination with synagogue administrators throughout the city, with mutual understanding and acceptance."
Huldai added, "What we are seeing now is wild incitement by ministers and Knesset members whose political strategy is to deepen hatred and division among the public; they have nothing else to offer. The truth no longer matters to them. They call us ‘cursed evildoers.’ I think it’s pretty clear who represents the face of evil in our society."
According to a report in Yediot Aharonot, the municipality recently sent letters to nonprofit associations operating some 130 synagogues, requiring them to sign new contracts. The contracts stipulate that the synagogues must provide “religious services to all neighborhood residents, regardless of age, gender, or belief.” Synagogues that refuse to sign face eviction proceedings.
Most of these synagogues were established before the founding of the State, many on municipal lands allocated decades ago but never fully registered in the Land Registry. The municipality is now seeking to regulate their status under new agreements, but with conditions that worshippers say undermine Jewish tradition.
“This clause is outrageous,” said attorney David Shub, who is representing the synagogues on a voluntary basis. “Signing such a commitment means opening prayers to other religious streams or even other faiths, while at the same time prohibiting a women’s section or gender separation. This is secular coercion disguised as equality.”
During a recent hearing at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, a city representative argued: “If a synagogue in a secular neighborhood does not serve the residents, it can be used for other purposes.” Another municipal lawyer clarified that any synagogue failing to comply with the new conditions would be replaced by another operator.
Synagogue representatives warn that signing would expose them to lawsuits alleging gender discrimination or exclusion, and could even allow courts to dictate the text of prayers based on the character of the neighborhood.
One case already in court involves the “L’zecher Kedoshei Antopol” synagogue, which refused to sign and is now facing eviction. In another case, the Rabbinical Court declared the “Tiferet Zvi” synagogue a religious endowment to block its closure, but the municipality appealed to the High Court of Justice, and proceedings remain ongoing.
In response, the Tel Aviv Municipality stated: “The agreement is intended to ensure that there is no discrimination or exclusion in a synagogue operating on public land. This is not an unusual measure, but a standard contractual arrangement.”
Synagogue leaders, however, warn of far-reaching consequences: “If this demand passes, it will mean one thing — the systematic silencing of Jewish tradition in the name of "equality". Synagogues will be forced to choose between faithfulness to halakha or basic survival.”