Overview

• Letters sent to operators of roughly 130 synagogues require offering services to all local residents regardless of age, gender, or belief, with prayer style set by each board and noncompliance risking eviction.
• Many affected shuls occupy municipal property with incomplete land registration, giving the city leverage to condition renewed agreements on non-discrimination terms.
• Some synagogues have signed the new leases, while others that refused are facing eviction suits, including L’zecher Kedoshei Antopol now before the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court.
• In a separate dispute, the Rabbinical Court classified Tiferet Zvi/Tiferet Tzvi as a religious endowment to block a takeover, and the municipality has petitioned the Supreme Court, with proceedings pending.
• City officials describe the clause as a standard safeguard against exclusion on public property, while synagogue leaders and attorney David Shub argue it could curb gender-separated prayer and alter Orthodox practice.