First it was the city’s announcement that it would operate its newly renovated indoor pool on Shabbos, leading to a call by rabbonim not to pay for pool membership, to boycott the pool. Now, a new store has opened in the city, a store that R”L sells treif and is open on Shabbos. The city’s rabbonim have called for an atzeres tefilla, to be held an hour before candle lighting on erev Shabbos.

The tensions in the city between Yahadut Hatorah councilmen and Mayor Rami Greenberg are rising as the chareidi party and the city’s rabbonim express grave concerns over the growing Chilul Shabbos in the city and the mayor’s decision to “trample the religious status quo in the city’ as they put it.

The store, Keshet Te’amim, belongs to a national chain that operates on Shabbos, including the sale of treif items. The new branch is located in the Segulah area of the city. It is pointed out that the building being used by the new store is owned by a Sephardi Jew who resides abroad, and according to a Kikar Shabbos News report, his representatives tried to prevent the store from operating on Shabbos, albeit, without success.

Dozens of rabbonim have joined the protests against the Chilul Shabbos, calling on the community to accept Shabbos ten minutes earlier and on erev Shabbos, they will gather an hour before Shabbos for an atzeres tefilla against the new store and its Chilul Shabbos.

The city’s chief rabbi, HaGaon Rav Micha Halevi penned a harshly worded letter against the growing Chilul Shabbos in the city, and this led to rabbonim affiliated from the both the chareidi and dati leumi streams joining in, uniting against the Chilul Shabbos. As such, the tzibur will gather in the complex where the store is located for the atzeres tefilla, to be led by leading rabbonim in the city.

The Shas party backed Greenberg in the last election, and it is a member of the city’s coalition government.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)