Deputy Minister (Yahadut HaTorah) R’ Meir Porush sent a harshly worded letter to Foreign Minister (Yisrael Beitenu) Avigdor Lieberman regarding the chilul shabbos last week by Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Dr. Michael Oren.
Ambassador Oren gave a press briefing on shabbos due to the tensions surrounding the Ramat Shlomo conflict, speaking to the media in an effort to implement damage control.
Porush stated such an occurrence is forbidden and may not reoccur; explaining a senior member of the diplomatic corps has no excuse for chilul shabbos as a result of acting in his official capacity.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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6 Responses
Is this the first time an Israeli ambassador was not shomer shabbos?
Is that really wise? After all, it was a moment of heavy tension in DC.
What about the PM taking a call on Shabbos in an official capacity?
Since when is speaking to the press an issur shabbos. Especially letzoirech Tzibbur
I understand that the nasty phone call from Secretary Hillary Clinton to Prime Minister Netanyahu was made on a Shabbos. The PM and the Ambassador may be Chilonim, but their conducting official business on the Holy Day is a departure from the long-standing practice of refraining from it.
I am told that even Ben Gurion was not Mechalel Shabbos or eating Treif BEFARHESIA!
this is a silly letter and is purely political. This was absolutely a time of possible “pikuach nefesh’ and i daresay taht there might actually be a real hetter to do this. porush is doing this to shore up his ‘chareidi’ credentials.