In Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square, tensions flared during the Yom Kippur evening prayer approximately a week and a half ago. However, on a recent Thursday morning, a Sukkot prayer took place in the same square, revealing a complex interplay of religious customs, municipal regulations, and a quest for religious freedom. This event unfolded against the backdrop of a partition separating men and women, adhering to Orthodox Jewish practices, on which the words "Prayer for unity with Israel" were inscribed.

The situation escalated as some residents sought to dismantle the partition, leading to the arrival of several police vehicles and city patrol units. Municipal inspectors arrived on the scene, invoking a municipal regulation prohibiting segregation in public spaces. Interestingly, during the prayer, it was the women who held the partition. As a response to this action, men moved around the square, inviting passersby to join them in conducting the special Sukkot prayer.

הרב לאו די, ששכל את שתי בנותיו ואשתו בפיגוע בבקעת הירדן, החליט לבוא ולהתפלל בכיכר דיזינגוף והותקף: "היו אנשים שניסו להפחיד ולעשות רעש, זה מסוכן. אני לא מפחד" >>> https://t.co/VIF325bJbT#בחציהיום | @kerenu9 pic.twitter.com/2kjZbcdSPz

— כאן | רשת ב (@ReshetBet) October 5, 2023

The gender-based separation during the prayer became a focal point for tensions, drawing protesters to the scene armed with megaphones. Video footage captured a worshiper pushing a woman who had been shouting at him, prompting another man to intervene, resulting in a physical altercation.

Rabbi Leo Dee, a resident of Efrat who had tragically lost his wife Lea Dee and two daughters in a terrorist attack in the Jordan Valley, led the prayer on this particular morning. His Facebook post from five days prior revealed that he had been specifically approached to organize this event, with full awareness of the possibility of being arrested. He approached the situation with a spirit of determination, stating that "there is a chance of being arrested, but it will be fun." In response to a woman who implored him to stop the prayer, Rabbi Leo Dee responded by singing "Am Yisrael Chai" with a microphone.

תקיפת הרב ליאו די היום בזמן תפילה בתל אביב, היא מעשה בזוי ועוד חציית קו אדום.
הרב די, שאיבד את אשתו ושתי בנותיו בפיגוע, הוא אדם אצילי שבחר לעלות לארץ ישראל ופועל בלי סוף למען אחדות בעם.
בשל יכולתו לקירוב לבבות מיניתי אותו לשליח מיוחד של משרד החוץ, ואני רוצה לחזק אותו ולגנות את…

— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) October 5, 2023

Rabbi Dee's motivation for leading the prayer in Tel Aviv was to voice opposition to what had transpired during Yom Kippur and to champion religious freedom. "There is now an issue of religious freedom in Tel Aviv, there is an order from the mayor that says 'it is forbidden to pray like this and only allowed like this', and this is against human rights and freedom of religion. This prayer was for religious freedom in Tel Aviv. The mayor apparently wants to turn Tel Aviv into Soviet Russia , where there is a religion that is the state and everyone is the same. This is our right to pray with a partition, or without a partition, this is the true freedom of religion."