The Supreme Court on Thursday released its official explanation for a ruling it handed down roughly six months ago concerning the legality of holding gender-separate prayer gatherings in public areas of Tel Aviv. The decision came in response to a petition filed by the Rosh Yehudi organization.
In that earlier decision, the court instructed the Tel Aviv Municipality to permit gender-segregated tefillos in Meir Park, after city officials denied a similar request for Dizengoff Square.
Justice Yechiel Kasher, outlining his reasoning, criticized the city’s approach: “The municipality’s clear position embodies a principled, sweeping and absolute preference for maintaining gender nonsegregation in public spaces over any other consideration, and whatever the circumstances may be… it seems that the clear harm that this entails for those who wish to hold chareidi Jewish prayers, and their right to equality, was not considered at all by the municipality.”
In an especially sharp rebuke, Justice Kasher added: “During the discussion before us, the answer was even given that the municipality has nothing against chareidi prayer as long as it is not held in a manner that separates women and men, an answer that seems immaterial to clarify why it cannot be heard.”
Kasher further took issue with the message being conveyed by the city’s stance, explaining that their policy effectively implies “prayer in the manner in which his ancestors and forefathers prayed has a flaw, and therefore it is forbidden to hold it in public.” He emphasized that this was said “even when the applicant refers to the holiest day of the year for the Jewish religion.”
Justice David Mintz echoed the concerns, pointing out that “the municipality did not give even the slightest weight to the rights to equality and freedom of worship of the religious groups that customarily hold prayers in a gender-separated manner, as well as to the serious violation of these rights that its policy embodies.”
Mintz dismissed the municipality’s argument that gender separation was inherently discriminatory, asserting that even if that were true, “violation of one type of equality (between men and women) does not serve as an inexhaustible justification for violating another type of equality (between those who practice one religious sect and another, or between one religion and another).”
The justices also delivered criticism aimed at what they referred to as the “privileged elders of the first Hebrew city,” saying these influential figures failed to recognize just how damaging and alienating their stance was to a significant portion of the population that wishes to preserve the prayer traditions passed down through generations.
Reacting to the release of the court’s rationale, Israel Zeira, who heads Rosh Yehudi, said: “We welcome the court’s decision, which ruled the obvious – Judaism also has rights in Tel Aviv. However, we believe that the key to a solution lies in dialogue and respectful discourse that will enable a life together, as befits the character of the first Hebrew city.”
Still, despite the legal victory, Rosh Yehudi ultimately chose to cancel the planned outdoor tefillos due to concerns over potential confrontations. Nevertheless, the ruling may lay the groundwork for continued efforts by chareidi groups to hold traditional tefillos in public spaces in Tel Aviv and beyond.
{Matzav.com}