After this week’s cabinet decision placing the government’s ‘Shabbos authority’ back in the hands of Shas party leader Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri, the decision was approved by the Knesset in a 44 to 37 vote. This places the authority of dealing with the Tel Aviv Municipality and the latter’s decision to amend the city law to permit some 160 stores to open on Shabbos.

During the plenum discussion, Shas MK Michael Michaeli explained “As a youth, I was taught a holy concept – status quo – and we may not quarrel on this for there is a status quo. If we want to live side-by-side, religious and non-religious, Jews and non-Jews, one has to compromise; one has to give in on matters that are important to the other in order for the other to reciprocate and in recent years we have discovered the status quo has shrunken and it has all be one-sided…”

The authority to make decisions pertaining to Shabbos in local authorities was removed from a former Interior Minister, Silvan Shalom upon his behest. This authority was traditionally in the hands of the Interior Ministry.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)