Israeli singer Yaniv Ben Mashiach interrupted his performance in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening, telling the audience he would walk off stage if men and women were not seated separately.
The incident follows a public commitment Ben Mashiach made approximately two years ago to only perform at events with gender-separated seating, a practice observed in Orthodox Jewish communities. During a Selichot concert—penitential prayers recited in the Hebrew month of Elul before the High Holidays—he told his audience at the time: "May the Creator forgive me for all my sins. I have taken upon myself until the day I die to perform only with separation."
