Israeli parties play to voters in fight over Sabbath
Disagreements within the ruling coalition over a bill mandating the closure of supermarkets on the Sabbath are just the first gentle digs in the coming electoral war.
Two senior Israeli politicians — Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri — have been conducting a polite Twitter duel over proposed legislation to close down supermarkets on the Sabbath. Some towns are rushing to adopt bylaws contravening the bill before the Knesset adopts it.
Liberman, chair of the right-wing but largely secular Yisrael Beitenu party, wrote, “Givatayim, Rishon Lezion, Herzliya, Holon, Ramat Gan and other towns are absolutely right. Activity in the public domain on Shabbat is solely a matter for local government. Yisrael Beitenu stands firmly behind the chairman of the Union of Local Authorities in Israel, Haim Bibas. Yes to tradition. Yes to Jewish values. No to religious coercion.”
Deri, chair of ultra-Orthodox Shas and the bill’s sponsor, responded, “Liberman, my friend. If those same mayors were to declare that there’s no need for loyalty to the state and to boast about it, or were to adopt bylaws citing the unique local character of their town to ban immigrants from living there, would you also applaud and praise them?”
Liberman: “Aryeh, my friend. Who knows better than you my attitude toward Judaism? I repeat, yes to the traditions of Israel and to Jewish values, but no to religious coercion. I’m surprised that you can’t tell the difference between a call to respect the freedom of Israeli citizens to respect their heritage in keeping with their conscience and a call to discriminate against immigrants.”
