Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday did not even entertain urgent requests from chareidi lawmakers regarding efforts towards implementing a last-minute law to circumvent a recent Jerusalem Municipal Court ruling regarding the Chametz Law.

Cabinet ministers from Shas were anxious to place such a bill on the table, hoping to overrule the court before the start of Pesach, in the hope of making the sale of bread in the capital illegal, as has been the case for decades.

The issue did not event appear on the agenda and as a result, it was not discussed. It is abundantly clear that Olmert did not instruct the cabinet secretary to place the matter on the weekly agenda.

The prime minister stated that he was not about to make this a deal-breaker issue, expressing his de-facto support for the court’s decision and the judicial process.

Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit supported Olmert, expressing his disapproval for the attempted closed-door efforts to circumvent the court and to bypass the Knesset system.

Sheetrit of late has exhibited his disdain for frum practices, manifested during a recent appearance in a chareidi community – seeing fit to comment regarding the mechitza, stating in “this day and age, the women should not be hidden behind the curtain since they have an equal say in goings-on and voting privileges.” He called for removing the mechitza prior to his remarks, a request which of course went ignored.

His callous remarks prompted harsh words from prominent rabbinical authorities, resulting in an apology, albeit not one that carried an air of sincerity.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)