Teenage girl singer barred from singing show over ultra-Orthodox man in audience

A teenage girl was told she can’t sing in a municipal show yesterday because it would offend an ultra-Orthodox man who was in the audience.

The head of education at the Merom HaGalil Regional Council later apologizes for his decision to nix Eliyana Hayut, 13, from performing in a musical interlude during an education conference organized by the council, and says it was the wrong decision made under pressure.

The council says the incident was due to a “misunderstanding” and also apologized.

Under Israeli law, gender discrimination is prohibited in the public arena or at municipal events. However, women are often cut from performing at events as Orthodox Jewish law prohibits men from hearing women sing in certain contexts, considering the female voice immodest.

“It really upset me that I was canceled from the conference,” Hayut tells Channel 12. “I feel that it’s wrong to discriminate, it’s wrong that I couldn’t go to sing.”