A dramatic ruling by the Bat Yam Magistrate's Court has halted what supporters describe as the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality's "campaign against synagogues operating on municipal property."
Judge Yigal Nimrodi dismissed in full the municipality's eviction lawsuit against the veteran Gvurot Yisrael synagogue in the city's Trumpeldor neighborhood, delivering unusually sharp criticism of the local authority's conduct.
In the ruling, first published by Ynet, the judge found that the municipality had acted unlawfully and abused legal proceedings by using the threat of eviction as leverage to pressure the synagogue's leadership into signing a new allocation agreement.
The dispute began in August 2025, when it was revealed that the municipality had sent demands to dozens of synagogues operating on municipal land, requiring them to sign a commitment to provide religious services "without distinction based on gender or faith" and to adapt their operations to the general character of their neighborhoods.
Synagogues that refused to sign the revised agreement, citing concerns that it would prevent them from maintaining an orthodox way of life, were subsequently served with eviction lawsuits.
Gvurot Yisrael, which has operated at its current location with official municipal approval for nearly a century, refused to sign the agreement and was represented by attorney David Shuv. The municipality then filed the eviction suit that has now been rejected.
"From the very outset of the evidentiary stage, it became clear that the plaintiff (the municipality) did not genuinely seek to evict the synagogue from the property," Judge Nimrodi wrote. "The true objective of the lawsuit was different."
He ruled that using the courts to compel the signing of contracts was inconsistent with Israeli property law.
The judge also rejected the municipality's argument that it had no intention of closing the synagogue but merely sought to replace the organization operating it.
"A synagogue is not merely a physical structure or a piece of real estate," Nimrodi wrote. "It is a living institution that embodies sanctity, spirit, community, and a sense of belonging."
The court further ruled that the synagogue was not an unlawful occupant, noting that the property had been legally allocated to it decades ago.
Judge Nimrodi also reminded the municipality that, under Israeli law, responsibility for managing synagogues rests with the local religious council rather than the municipal authority.
According to court documents, the judge had attempted to broker a compromise between the parties. During a heated hearing in December 2025, Eli Levy, head of the Tel Aviv Municipality's Property Department, said the municipality would reject the court's proposed settlement framework, aside from removing the word "faith" from the disputed clause. The municipality's refusal ultimately preceded its complete defeat in the case.