Israel’s newly appointed Chief Rabbanim, HaRav Dovid Yosef and HaRav Kalman Bar paskened that El Al can fly to Amsterdam on Shabbos to rescue the Israelis following the pogrom in the Netherlands. The heter will be re-evaluated based on hourly situational assessments.
Israel’s Transportation Ministry instructed El Al and Israir to add three flights to Amsterdam to rescue Israelis in addition to the three regularly scheduled flights. Israelis whose passports were stolen or lost will be allowed to board the flights without passports.
The flights will be free of charge for all passengers who had booked a return ticket from Amsterdam to Israel with El Al and all other airlines, the flag carrier says.
The first flight will depart from Amsterdam at 2 p.m. local time and arrive back in Israel on Friday evening, El Al says. It adds that two regularly scheduled flights will also depart Amsterdam for Tel Aviv later today, each carrying around 350 passengers.
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Europe has Fallen.
To those who wonder why it is possible to Pasken to be Mechalel Shabbos (possibly even after the actual danger has passed), realize that sometimes victims commit suicide after traumatic events when no help is forthcoming. It twists the brain.
Recently a 10/7 victim died from that a year later.
People who have experience with PTSD after various traumas (car accidents, abuse, beatings, witnessing beatings or killings) unfortunately realize that this is not abstract but a natural human response. (People routinely lose their jobs, marriages and ability to cope with daily life after such incidents, and some eventually end their lives as a result.)
Your headline should indicate that this heter of theirs will be reevaluated hourly. And it wasn’t a pogrom; that is an insult to our holy ancestors who were attacked and murdered while living true Torah lives and going about their daily business, not secular sports fans watching a Zionist team in a gentile arena.
As well, is there really no way to protect those Jews while avoiding chilul Shabbos other than flying planes there to bring back their people on Shabbos?