Not everything is rosy in the coalition, at least not when it comes to backing a law that is being pushed by the chareidi parties, seeking to safeguard shmiras Shabbos in Tel Aviv.

Kulanu MK Roy Folkman has announced that while his party is a coalition partner, it will not back the new Shabbos law that empowers the cabinet to address the closure of Tel Aviv stores on Shabbos and Yomtov. The law is scheduled for a vote in Knesset on Wednesday.

Likud MK Eli Zohar, who authored the bill, insists the bill is not about religious coercion but about protecting the smaller business owners and their day of rest. If the large businesses open on Shabbos, smaller grocery stores will lose too much if they do not follow and open. He feels the bill is a matter of social responsibility for people like the Bremers, the father and son who operate a makolet and are spearheading the battle to shut stores on Shabbos.

Actually 84-year-old Mr. Morris Bremer was recently assaulted by an activist opposed to closing stores on Shabbos in Tel Aviv.

There is no doubt that if Kulanu does not back the coalition in the vote on the bill, an immediate crisis will follow with the chareidi parties, who insist they are unwilling to sit back and watch the widespread deterioration of the so-called Shabbos status quo.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)