A Tel Aviv judge has urged municipal authorities to soften a contested demand that synagogues open their doors to all residents regardless of age, gender or faith — a requirement the city demanded in new lease contracts intended for religious institutions.
The demand has sparked fierce resistance from Orthodox congregations and prompted a wave of eviction lawsuits.
The dispute began when the municipality of Tel Aviv insisted last month that all synagogues sign a lease amendment requiring them to “provide religious services to all residents of the neighborhood and surrounding area, according to its character and nature, without distinction of age, gender or faith.”
Rabbis warned the clause would force them to abandon Orthodox practices and conform to the preferences of predominantly secular or non‑Orthodox local populations. When synagogues refused, the city initiated eviction proceedings.
The fierce resistance led to a sharply worded hearing Monday at the Bat Yam Magistrate’s Court in the eviction suit filed against the Gevurat Yisrael synagogue. Presiding Judge Yigal Nimrodi recommended a compromise and asked the city to appear with a senior official responsible for the matter. In response, the municipality’s property director Eli Levi attended but refused to accept the compromise, agreeing only to drop the word “faith” from the clause.
During the proceedings, the municipality’s lawyer argued that full discussion was impossible with the media present, referring to prior coverage by the outlets where the contract was first published. The judge dismissed the argument, noting the public agency status of the city left no obstacle to a candid courtroom discussion. He offered a new compromise aimed at preserving the synagogues’ Orthodox character and instructed both sides to respond by February 2026. If they fail, he warned, he will issue a binding verdict.
Meanwhile, a coalition of senior Orthodox rabbis from across Israel appealed to Minister Yariv Levin, who also holds the interior and religious services portfolios, demanding immediate intervention to halt what they described as the municipality’s “unprecedented takeover” of religious institutions.
In their letter, they warned that eviction lawsuits against synagogues in the “Holy Land” strike at the heart of religious life and must be stopped until a comprehensive review is conducted, including input from community leaders.
The rabbis argued that the city’s demands — including intervention in internal synagogue administration — amount to a violation of long‑standing religious autonomy. They demanded that the Interior Ministry order a freeze on all enforcement until a thorough legal and communal review is completed.