As reported in all the press, President Shimon Peres has decided to not fly to London to attend the Olympic Games. He could not find a room in the hotel nearby, and the other options would have required him to travel by car to the games and ceremonies, including on Shabbos.

Shimon Peres has always been careful, despite not being religious, to not publicly desecrate Shabbos, and has decided that as a representative of Israel to the Olympics he would still refuse to do so publicly, making the trip pointless. Instead, Peres will be desecrating the Shabbos in the comfort of his own living room and watching the game on his television, but at least it won't be in the official capacity as president of Israel...

This is a Kiddush Hashem. And this does show that the State is not hostile to Judaism, despite sometimes implementing policy that one group or another considers being anti-Judaism (whether it is haredim or settlers, or hesder or other examples).. the State is far from perfect, and it's delicate balance between Judaism and democracy often leaves what to be desired, but Israel is still the Jewish State, and even the non-religious respect that.

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