20.12.2011                      24.Kislev. 5772

Leiser:

Israeli synagogue silences pre-Shabbat melody after neighborhood outcry

Tel Aviv synagogue received complaints that music an invasion of privacy; others claimed music an example of religious coercion.

For the past several months, the Belz Hasidic synagogue on Ahad Ha'am Street in the center of Tel Aviv has been playing a Jewish melody from loudspeakers on the roof of the building just prior to the onset of Shabbat. After neighbors in the area complained, the volume of the music was turned down, but that did not satisfy some people in the area, which is just a stone's throw from the symbol of secular Israeli popular culture, Sheinkin Street. Now the synagogue's management has agreed to stop playing the pre-Shabbat music altogether.
The synagogue posted notices about its decision to stop the music around the neighborhood. "We know that many residents (including secular residents of the neighborhood) will regret this decision," the notice said, "but to avoid a commotion and bad atmosphere in the neighborhood, we understand that this is the right step."…