Tel Aviv mayor threatens to sue culture minister Miri Regev for claiming he’d sought to ban tefillin

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai threatens to sue Culture Minister Miri Regev over her claim that he would bar people from donning ritual phylacteries in the coastal city.

A letter from Huldai’s lawyers say the claim is “without any basis” and calls on Regev to apologize to the mayor or pay damages of NIS 100,000.

It also clarifies that tefillin stands are permitted in the city but cannot be set up within 100 meters of a school.

Regev quickly fires back at Huldai.

“Ron Huldai, you don’t threaten me… Who authorized you to prevent Jews from putting on tefillin in public spaces?” she writes on Facebook.

The letter from Huldai’s lawyers came in response to comments Regev made yesterday at a Likud campaign event in Acre.

“You know the mayor of Tel Aviv announced he won’t approve putting on tefillin in the street,” she said. “There is nothing more Jewish than tefillin.”