Two days after the 'big bang' on Yom Kippur in Tel Aviv, we met with Israel Zeira, the leader of 'Rosh Yehudi,' to understand what happened there and precisely what the goal of 'Rosh Yehudi' is in the heart of Tel Aviv.
Israel starts with a smile and says, "From here, we can only go up," and then he elaborates on the event that took place on the holy day:
"Dozens of people arrived at the square in an organized and well-prepared manner. Before the holiday, we debated whether to hold the event and how to do it. In the end, we found a plan that was both in accordance with religious law and legal requirements. However, they organized themselves into groups to disrupt the prayer, and we have screenshots of that."
Did you know they would come to disrupt the prayer?
"At some point, we knew that they were organizing for something disruptive. They wrote that they would mix among the men and women without disturbances, essentially misleading us and the police. We complained to the police before Yom Kippur and requested their protection for the prayer. In the end, they arrived with great force and in an organized manner, screaming and with a strategy to disrupt the prayer. This was something we never expected, as another red line was crossed, and another sacred cow was slaughtered, which was the Yom Kippur prayer that had become a consensus even in the secular world.
"The prayer was disrupted by an anarchist group. They defiled the Torah, the prayer, previously the army, the economy, the academia, and they fight against nationalism and fight against sanctity."
If you knew, you would say we will conduct the prayer because it's Jewish pride, or is it better to be wise and not right?
"Hindsight-wise, everyone is wise. Initially, we acted correctly in holding the prayer. After extensive consultation within our team and with important rabbis, on the same day that the petition was filed with the Supreme Court, Chief Rabbi of Israel Rabbi David Lau called me and said: 'I want to make sure that you are conducting the prayer and not canceling it. My wife is ill, so I can't attend, but if I could, I would pray with you and sleep over by you.' There is a tremendous and very moving support from all corners."
Why Tel Aviv specifically? After all, if they were to open a center for people who have left the religion in the settlements, it would upset us?
"Because Tel Aviv has everything – it has the will, the desire, and the thirst, and it's pluralistic. In Bnei Brak, they won't open a stand to sell non-kosher meat because there won't be demand for it. But Tel Aviv is a big city with everything in it, and it takes pride in its liberalism. Furthermore, when you open a Tefillin stand in Tel Aviv, there's a long line. I am the liberal one. I embrace complexities and differences. I tolerate what I may not agree with, and I live here proudly, loving the people who are different and my friends. Where has your liberalism gone? Suddenly, you've become afraid?"
