Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday strongly criticized left-wing protesters after clashes broke out on Sunday night in Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square during Yom Kippur prayers.
“The people of Israel wanted to unite on Yom Kippur in prayer for forgiveness and unity,” the prime minister said after the holiday ended on Monday night. “To our surprise, in the Jewish nation, on the holiest Jewish day, left-wing protesters rioted against Jews as they prayed. It seems that there are no limits, no norms, and there is no exception from hatred for the left-wing extremists. I, like most of Israel’s citizens, reject this. There is no room for such violent behavior among us."
During the services, some worshipers tried to set up partitions to separate men and women, which the Tel Aviv municipality and the High Court of Justice had banned because it was a public space.
The announcement last month that the service would separate the sexes caused controversy right up to the holiest day of the year. Some groups petitioned the Tel Aviv courts to overrule the separation ban, but the petitions were rejected by the High Court.
עם ישראל ביקש להתאחד ביום הכיפורים בבקשת סליחה, מחילה ואחדות בתוכנו. לתדהמתנו, דווקא במדינת היהודים, ביום הקדוש ביותר לעם היהודי, מפגיני שמאל התפרעו נגד יהודים בעת תפילתם. נראה שאין גבולות, אין נורמות ואין סייג לשנאה מצד הקיצונים משמאל. אני, כמו רוב אזרחי ישראל, דוחים זאת. אין…
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 25, 2023
Opposition leaders respond to Netanyahu's comments
Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Netanyahu of inciting against the protesters and said his job as prime minister was to calm the situation.
“What happened this Yom Kippur is mainly awful and sad,” he said. “Over the years, this was a day of mutual respect and consideration of each other’s feelings. Whoever wanted to pray separately went to synagogue. Whoever wanted to pray together, prayed outside. No one tried to force their Judaism on others.
“This was until messianic and racist groups from the outside tried to force their Judaism on us. We don’t need instructions from anyone on how to be Jewish. It’s a shame that they turned this wonderful and holy day into another Israeli fight.”
מר נתניהו, בצאת יום הכיפורים ראש ממשלה לא אמור להוסיף להסתה ולמריבה, אלא לנסות להרגיע את הרוחות. לידיעתך, רוב האנשים שבאו למחות נגד הכפייה של המשיחיים צמו והתפללו ביום הכיפורים הזה. הם לא נגד היהדות, הם מנסים להציל את היהדות מהחבורה הגזענית והקיצונית שנתת לה במתנה את השלטון. https://t.co/4G7ib2UjPi
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) September 25, 2023
National Unity leader Benny Gantz also accused Netanyahu of incitement.
“For 75 years, the vast majority of Israelis managed to reach agreements on the public sphere on Yom Kippur in which it was personalized per community,” he said. “For 75 years, the public respected one another despite their differences and didn’t insert politics into Yom Kippur. Now, those who decided to separate us managed to desecrate this holy day too with compulsion and hatred. And none other than the prime minister, the biggest generator of hate, is the one who is now stoking the flames together with politicians who decided to turn our public spaces into a disaster area.
במשך 75 שנה הצליח רוב גדול של הישראלים להגיע להסכמות על המרחב הציבורי ביום הכיפורים, כך שיותאם לפי הקהילה.75 שנה הצליחו ציבורים לכבד האחד את השני למרות השוני, ולא הכניסו פוליטיקה ליום הכיפורים.כעת, מי שהחליט להפריד בינינו - הצליח לחלל גם את היום הקדוש הזה בכפייה ובשנאת חינם.…
— בני גנץ - Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) September 25, 2023
“I call on all the leaders to act responsibly and stop the slanderous discourse and actions. To the public, I want to say that there is logic in allowing the public space to be managed according to the character of the general population, and in this case, I think the correct decision was made in authorizing the Tel Aviv municipality to decide the rules.”
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.