Miri Michaeli Pushes Back at Naor Narkis Over Tel Aviv Yom Kippur Prayers

Television presenter Miri Michaeli publicly responded to social activist Naor Narkis after he criticized Yom Kippur prayers in Dizengoff Square in Tel Aviv. In an Instagram story posted on Sunday that quickly went viral, she addressed him directly and objected to the idea that religious Jews do not belong in the city.

Michaeli wrote, “Hi Naor, I was born and raised in Dizengoff, in a traditional-religious home, is that okay? Or should we have moved somewhere far away so as not to take over your outdoor space?” Her post was a reaction to comments Narkis made in an interview with I24NEWS.

In that interview, Narkis argued that the Yom Kippur prayer in the public space in Dizengoff, Tel Aviv, was equivalent to Muslims taking over public space in New York City. The dispute centers on who gets to define the character of public space in Tel Aviv and whether religious observance there constitutes an imposition.