Moshe Karsia, a singer and online personality known for his connection to Jewish tradition, said he had a painful experience while looking for an apartment in Tel Aviv. In a video he posted to social media, he said he felt close to breaking down because he must leave his current apartment in two weeks and has been searching for a home for several weeks.
Karsia said the apartment itself was fine, but problems began when he asked whether the building had a Shabbat elevator. “They didn’t know how to answer me,” he said, adding that when he went to the building manager, “he started making faces at me and began asking me difficult questions, if I was going to impose religious coercion in the building.” Karsia stressed that he only wants to avoid violating Shabbat himself and believes a Shabbat elevator should be possible.
He also said he discovered that the building’s main entrance is an electric door, which would also prevent him from entering without violating Shabbat. When he asked if there was any way to get in without doing so, he said the answer was no. According to Karsia, the landlord then got angry that he had not said on the phone that he was religious, even though he felt he had to apologize for it.
Karsia quoted the landlord as saying, “I knew you were religious, but everyone is religious today. I don’t know what kind of religious person you are. Who said you keep Shabbat?” He ended by saying he keeps finding himself apologizing for observing Shabbat, that he does not want to force his beliefs on anyone, and that the experience makes him feel like an outsider. He said it has even made him think about returning to Jerusalem, and concluded, “Maybe how I feel is more important than my career.”
