Israeli Singer Eviatar Banai Halts Jerusalem Concert Over Security Incident

Singer Eviatar Banai halted his performance on Wednesday evening at the final "Meirim B'Slichot" event at the Sultan's Pool in Jerusalem after noticing security guards attempting to remove his family members from the crowd. During the song, Banai stopped and said, "Stop the performance, sorry. They are sitting right here. Stop the performance, from the beginning. Until my family is sitting in front of me, we are not continuing. Family comes before everything. It's hard to concentrate when you see security guards taking your mother out right in front of your eyes." After the pause, Banai restarted the song. Sources present at the concert told mako that a crowd had gathered behind the barriers near the stage, and security guards were removing people from the area due to overcrowding concerns. Banai noticed his mother was among them, stopped the show, and asked that she not be removed. The performance marked the final night of the "Meirim B'Slichot" concert series at the Sultan's Pool, which also featured Liran Danino, Matan Hassan, and Sasson Shaulov.