Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai proposed the city shutter its stores on the Sabbath but allow public transportation. The proposal follows the bill submitted by Likud MK Miki Zohar to shut down all commerce on the Sabbath a move which garnered heavy criticism and led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order Zohar to retract the bill and add amendments.
In a letter sent by Huldai to MKs and other elected leaders on Wednesday, he proposed formulating a “social contract” to clarify the issues surrounding the Sabbath.
“The current worldview was and remains that the Sabbath should be a day of rest without commerce or work,” wrote Huldai. “It is a social value of the highest order. Each person deserves the right to have one day of rest per week, a day of rest in which they can have fun or visit relatives; it is only natural that as Jews and Zionists we should adopt the Sabbath as our day of rest in the State of Israel.
“We are not having a halachic argument but a civic discourse about the limits the state should set to assure the Sabbath will be the weekly day of rest, in which the majority of the public does not work, while still providing the services required for the public to enjoy that day of rest.”
According to Huldai, “Tel Aviv-Jaffa before and after the bylaws we set is a city that rests on the Sabbath no less, and maybe even more, than many other cities! Tel Aviv-Jaffa, the ‘city that doesn’t sleep’ with the intensive commercial and industrial operations that define its during the week completely changes its face for the Sabbath. The industrial-commercial activity makes way to leisure, culture, and relaxation activities which suit a day of rest and thus our city serves the entire metropolitan. Even the big ‘malls’ do not operate in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, unlike in many other cities.
“Our city council decided in a majority ruling to amend the bylaw, in a manner that will permit the operations of a minimal number of kiosks and markets which have long operated in the city (as in many other cities), in order to provide service for residents who desire it. We are talking about a negligible number of 150-200 businesses out of 50,000 businesses that work in the city.”
Instead, Huldai called for public transportation to remain open on the Sabbath. “I would propose we examine in the same way the current situation in the country and form a social contract in which we agree that we will not have commerce on the Sabbath and even the malls would stay closed but on the other hand public transportation and a limited number of kiosks and markets would be allowed to operate on a Sabbath schedule. That is how we assure the Sabbath is truly a day of rest for everyone dedicated to leisure, culture, and relaxation. I believe that is preferable to the shopping culture which developed here on the Sabbath.”
According to Huldai, “Public transportation should be available on a schedule that allows all Israelis access to the services they require on their day of rest and relaxation, which will obviously be different from a weekday schedule. That way, even those who do not have cars could have access to hospitals, could visit relatives, go to sporting and cultural events, or enjoy a day at the beach.
“This is not a local issue or a Tel Aviv issue it’s a national issue. Why should only a person who owns a car be able to visit their relatives, go to shows, or enjoy the beach on the Sabbath?! Why should the grandma from Tiberias or Beersheva not be able to visit her grandchildren in Herzliya or Bat Yam on the Sabbath?! And looking at the bigger picture of environmental health public transportation on the Sabbath will help get more vehicles off the road who are held by those who have no other way of commuting on the day of rest.”
Huldai concluded: “The work of striking a balance and reaching agreements should stay as se by law in the hands of the local leadership in each locale; it is clear that you cannot set one law for Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Bnei Brak. And, if the Bnei Brak city council can shutter on the Sabbath what is allowed in the rest of the country, then we must respect the authority of the Tel Aviv-Jaffa council to set how the Sabbath is observed on its streets.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 14, 2016
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