She began breastfeeding - and then the usher demanded she stop: "I felt like a criminal"

A mother of a two-month-old baby arrived at a festival at a cultural institution in Haifa. When she sat down to breastfeed in a side area, an usher asked her to stop, claiming it was a public institution. The mother left the venue after failing to find an alternative place to breastfeed. The institution stated it was an isolated incident involving a single usher.

A mother of a two-month-old baby arrived yesterday (Sunday) at a festival at a cultural institution in Haifa. At some point, when the baby was hungry, she sat down in a side area in a hallway near the restrooms to breastfeed him, using a cover. An usher approached her and asked her to stop breastfeeding in that spot, claiming it was a public institution. The mother, who was unaware of any directive prohibiting breastfeeding in a public space, looked for another place. According to her, the usher continued to follow her, and she could not find a private area. Eventually, as the baby cried, she decided to leave the venue and return home. "I left there with a baby showing signs of dehydration," she recounted. In an email she sent to the institution, she wrote: "I felt like a criminal when all I wanted was to feed my son." The institution responded: "This is an isolated and unfortunate incident involving a single usher who did not internalize the guidelines. There has never been a directive to prevent breastfeeding within the institution's premises."