After a long arduous Knesset plenum session, the Mesoret Yisrael Bill was passed late Monday night, the eve of 8 Teves in a 50 to 38 vote. The bill is actually called the Work & Rest Hours Law, reflecting the fact the Minister of Labor must take factors into consideration prior to granting permits to permit government and quasi-government bodies to work on Shabbos. This is the result of continuous work on Israel Railways maintenance on Shabbos, which almost led to a break-up of the coalition government.

The government-backed bill, which is now law, instructs the Minister of Labor to use his judgement regarding ‘Mesoret Yisrael’ (Jewish tradition) and issue permits to work on Shabbos. This bill enjoys the backing of the chareidi parties. Prior to issuing permits, the minister is now expected to consider if work can be carried out on a weekday and the harm that results in permitting it on Shabbos, while also considering the workers and ‘mesoret Yisrael’

The explanatory notes to the bill state that, “It has recently become clear that government bodies such as the Israel Railways and the National Roads Company have turned Shabbos into a preferred day for carrying out infrastructure works on Israel’s roads and railways, which seriously harm both the Jewish character of the state and their feelings of millions of religious and traditional residents in the State of Israel.

“In addition, the work also harms workers, including many Jews whose tradition is important to them, who are forced to leave their families and go to work on the day of rest and desecrate Shabbos. Some of the workers belong to the weaker sectors of the society and are forced to work on Shabbos to maintain their place of employment for the other days of the week.”

The bill was introduced by MK (Kulanu) Merav Ben Ari who said: “All in all, consideration is given to Shabbos. This is not a Shabbos (supermarket) law, but a law that gives possibility, and any person whose tradition is part of it – why should he oppose this law? ”

MK Yair Lapid said during the discussion: “If you wanted to see what political extortion looks like – that’s exactly how it looks. Yahadut Hatorah representatives exploited the weakness of the prime minister and introduced the law. Is this the tradition of Israel? Maimonides, R. Saadia Gaon – Is it the tradition of Israel, is it related to Judaism or their exclusion to Judaism through this law?”

MK (Kulanu) Elazar Stern said that “thanks to this law, the Conservative movement enters the law book, the Masorti Movement. Why does this law have a Jewish tradition and not when it comes to concern for the poor? The government creates a tradition of hatred and our Jewish tradition is of kiruv.”

MK (Meretz) Moti Raz slammed the bill and claimed that the bill was born only because “it was necessary to show the chareidi public that they were doing something.” He said: “They want secular and Arab communities to take into account vital infrastructure work such as work on the train, that we will take the heritage of Israel into account.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)