Now Modiin, led by a Likud mayor, has begun operating a Shabbos bus to the beach, as has Kfar Saba and some other locales. Tel Aviv has announced they will begin operation on Shabbos of a tourist bus running through the city. Ramat Gan, via its mayor Carmel Shama Cohen (also of the Likud) is beginning operation of buses on Shabbos, and it has become a fight with Bnei Braq in general.
All this is added to many other locations and instances around the country (some reported here, some not) that have been increasing public chilul shabbos over the past couple of years.
A. This is a tremendous failure of the Haredi parties that have tried, perhaps only superficially, to fight this. Some might say it is specifically increasing because they are fighting it. Perhaps it is time to either step up the fight or tone it down if there is no intention to make it real.
B. It continues to amaze me that with the Haredi parties talking regularly about how Shabbos observance in the public sphere is of utmost importance to them and is the main issue of their involvement in government, they continue to support Benjamin Netanyahu for Prime Minister, despite the fact that it is under Netanyahu's leadership that the public chilul shabbos has so dramatically increased in recent years. At what point will they tell him no more. And since they have not, why not?
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Leave it to Rafi to blame Chilul Shabbos on the Chareidim.
ReplyDeletepossibly, when you turn it into a fight and threaten the government and try t control what other people can and cannot do, you create antagonism to that issue. One of the biggest reasons we need to separate shul and state. If Feiglin got anything right in his entire platform it is this (in my opinion)
ReplyDeleteYep, if Chareidim weren't imnvolved there would be national Shmiras Shabbos. Do me a favor - stop this
ReplyDeleteYou seem to have reading comprehension issues.
DeleteWhy doesn't everyone understand already that there is an 'Agenda' worldwide to rid religion from the face of the earth and the S.O.I., r'l, is in deep with these same powers and that's why they're doing nothing about it. The main goal is, of course, Israel because it needs to eradicate, chas v'sholom, Torah Judaism. Let's also be honest and realize the 'chareidi parties' are just a bunch of politicians and their particular interests for themselves and their institutions are all that matters. Chazal tell us that many of the religious rabbis and leaders will also be of the Erev Rav. We see it, read about it, hear it on a daily basis and yet we don't seem to understand anything.
ReplyDeleteAs I often think, "Until Moshiach comes," there is not going to be agreement regarding Shmirat Shabbat (Sabbath observance) as long as we have the full spectrum of Jewish observance in Israel. As much as a commenter wants to make Israel a halachic state, I don't think this is feasible. We can have the status quo agreement which gives the general guidelines on the role of Judaism in the state, but beyond this each person has free will. If the chilonim (long time since I've seen that word in print) want to ride buses to the beach on Shabbat, this may tick off the charedim, but there is only so much they can do about it. At this point, the best solution may be "live and let live." I don't think the charedi politicians can do much about it.
ReplyDeleteI think both sides need to recognize that they cannot shove religion (or non-religion) down the throats of everyone. Doing so gives religion a bad name. And therefore the Chief Rabbinate should be representative of all halachic Judaism, not only the most extreme types. If we need a Rabbinate, it must represent all Jews, and its policies should reflect that it does not look down upon those who are more lenient than they are.
well said
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