Synagogues in the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality can make use of sidewalks and other adjacent public spaces for daily prayers during the Jewish high holidays in order to facilitate socially distanced worship amid the coronavirus pandemic, municipal authorities said on Sunday.
Synagogues will be permitted to hold gatherings in public spaces during Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret - a period of intense prayer sessions.
All services are to be held in accordance with public health regulations, with all worshipers wearing protective face masks, maintaining social distance and having regular temperature checks.
The decision come while lawmakers and health officials were considering a nationwide lockdown during the holiday period, with some worrying that the often crowded synagogues would pose a significant risk of increasing the transmission of COVID-19.
"The right to prayer and religious gatherings is fundamental, and everything will be done in order to permit tens of thousands of worshipers to carry out the holiday commandments – even under the health restrictions," Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said in a statement.
"From the very first days of the first Hebrew city, Jewish tradition has been of great importance in our daily life. As Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of the city, said: Our aim is that the spirit of Judaism will exist in harmony with our enterprise and this city – so that the spirit of brotherhood, peace and love will prevail."