Minister Aryeh Deri said in an interview with Israel Hayom that he has no intention to shut any shops on Shabbos, nor does he have the power to. The enforcement of this law is in the hands of the local municipal authroties, and if they do not want to enforce this law there is nothing he can do about it and stores will remain open on Shabbos. Deri added that the Minimarket Law has not and will not cause a singly shop to close, and it was meant to sharpen the reality in existence that local laws must be approved by the Minister of Interior. And, Deri further added, Chaim Bibes and the other mayors know how the law works and are just taking advantage of the situation and of many in the public not being as familiar with it to score political points off the backs of the Haredim.

So, to review, we have Aryeh Deri and his peers who fought hard for a law that does nothing, according to Deri, we have mayors who want to inflame the situation on Shabbos claiming the Haredim want to coerce Shabbos observance and change their lifestyle, we have Deri and his supporters flaunting the law (that they supposedly cant enforce even if they wanted to) in the faces of the public to scare or threaten them. And each side is accusing the other of engaging in hate politics.

They are all doing the same thing. Taking advantage of other people's ignorance in how the law works to claim meaningless political victories, and in the process making everyone hate each other. Maybe the politicians should all engage in more fruitful activities and work to better the lives of the citizens they are supposed to be providing services to.