Dei'ah veDibur - Information & Insight
  

A Window into the Chareidi World

9 Nissan 5764 - March 31, 2004 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
NEWS

OPINION
& COMMENT

OBSERVATIONS

HOME
& FAMILY

IN-DEPTH
FEATURES

VAAD HORABBONIM HAOLAMI LEINYONEI GIYUR

TOPICS IN THE NEWS

HOMEPAGE

 

Produced and housed by
Shema Yisrael Torah Network
Shema Yisrael Torah Network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEWS
Fighting to Shut the Store on Shabbos
by Betzalel Kahn

When R' Michoel and R' Yosef Wolfe started Erroca a few years ago their only goal was to earn a respectable living from a chain of optics stores across the country. Besiyata deShmaya their efforts were blessed with success and now Erroca outlets can be found everywhere. But the two former South Africans, observant Jews now living in Jerusalem's Bayit Vegan neighborhood, never imagined that one day the State of Israel would stand in their way of keeping Shabbos.

This is a sad story that could only transpire in this country, which declared itself "the Jewish state" 55 years ago. Today it has proven itself to be like all the other nations--or worse. For where else in the Western world do official government bodies require citizens to work seven days a week?

The two Wolfe brothers were shocked to discover that in order to take part in a tender for commercial space in a government facility they would be expected to open their store on Shabbos. In their innocence they assumed that all of the other stores may open on Shabbos but theirs alone would proudly wear the badge of kedushas Shabbos, proving to all that a business that shuts its doors on Shabbos can succeed. But then they discovered that one of the inflexible conditions of the tender was that they must keep the store open every day of the year except for Yom Kippur.

The facility is Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion International Airport, also known at NATBAG 2000, which is scheduled for completion this month. The businesses that win the tender for duty-free stores will enjoy the benefit of heavy traffic 24 hours per day. (Most of the duty-free stores in the current terminal remain open on Shabbos. Patrons should know that while they may be saving 17 percent off the price they stand to lose more by purchasing goods from mechallelei Shabbos.)

The two Wolfe brothers refused to give in and hired the offices of Yehuda, Raveh & Associates, Israel's top legal firm in the field of commercial law, to file a High Court appeal, demanding a nisi order be issued to the Airports Authority and the Transportation Ministry to allow the company to take part in the tender without having to commit to Shabbos desecration, chas vesholom.

40 Branches Closed on Shabbos

The Wolfe brothers made aliyah 30 years ago. Michoel was a certified public accountant and Yosef was a licensed optometrist. Using this interesting combination the two decided to enter the Israeli market by opening an optics store called Einit in Jerusalem's Merkaz Klal Shopping Center. Gradually it expanded and moved to a new location at the corner of Yeshayohu and Hanevi'im. Einit has been very successful in its field, especially in the Jerusalem area, but also through the optics products it imports and sells to retailers across the country.

When the two brothers decided to expand seven years ago they opened Erroca International, which imports and manufactures optics products and operates a chain of 40 sunglasses stores from Nahariya to Eilat. "Erroca stores are located primarily in malls," R' Michoel told Yated Ne'eman, "and of course we cater primarily to the secular public since sunglasses are not a product often used by the chareidi sector, certainly not as a fashion product. All of our stores, without exception, are closed on Shabbos."

As an example he cites one of the chain's leading outlets, located on Tel Aviv's Sheinkin Street. Friday is a shopping day for Tel Aviv youth. Thousands visit the street every week, and desiring to remain even after dark. "We simply push people out before Shabbos begins and close the doors," says Michoel Wolfe. "In Eilat alone, where all of the shopping malls are exempt from customs and tourism flows every day of the year, we have four stores, all of them closed on Shabbos. Our competitors are open on Shabbos and holidays but people who want to buy from us know they have to wait until motzei Shabbos."

Recently the Wolfe brothers decided to continue expanding by opening a duty-free shop at the airport. "This was supposed to be our banner store," says R' Michoel, who hopes to win the High Court case as a matter of principle and to demonstrate that resolve pays off. After the appeal was reported in the media the manager of the one of the country's leading clothing chains expressed his support. "This is a secular man who heads a chain of 100 stores, and he was complaining that the shopping malls require him to open his stores on Shabbos. Clearly this is a matter of principle. If the court accepts our stance many businesses will be able to use the High Court decision and wave it in the faces of those who require them to open their businesses on Shabbos."

The Sin: Being a Believing Jew

"The question which stands before the honorable court in this petition affects the core of the faith, identity and place in Israeli society of a wide sector of the State of Israel's citizens and residents," argues the petition against the Airports Authority and the Transportation Minister drafted by Attorney Aryeh Holtzer. "Now that chareidi individuals have endeavored to set up an economically productive enterprise which serves as a paradigm of chareidi economic involvement and participation in commerce in the country, it would be unseemly for this involvement to be rebuffed and stopped with the stamp of an improper decision by the Airports Authority . . .

"The question is not whether or not Ben Gurion Airport will be open on Shabbat. The question is not even whether or not the airport stores will be open on Shabbat. The question which stands before this honorable court is whether the State of Israel--the state of the Jewish people--will declare that at its refurbished gates to the world at large--NATBAG 2000-- the name Erroca, the name of the petitioners' store, will not be displayed for the sole reason that its owners are Jews who keep Shabbat.

"Will the State of Israel say to the esteemed gentlemen, Michael and Yosef Wolfe, and the greater public standing behind them, `The State of Israel's symbolic gates are locked before your businesses, for it is inconceivable to deny travelers embarking for abroad on Shabbatot and Jewish holidays the opportunity to purchase sunglasses upon their departure?' "

In concluding his opening statements, Holtzer writes, "The question before us focuses on denying the fundamental right of an Israeli citizen to vie in a tender for the State of Israel's banner project for the `sin' of being a believing Jew."

After Erroca managers purchased the forms for the tender for two sunglasses stores on the two floors of the terminal they noticed that Article 11 of the contract that must be signed by the winner of the tender and the Airports Authority reads, "Services will be provided every day of the year during all hours of the day and night during which flights are operating at the airport."

Before turning to the courts they went to halachic authorities to ask whether there might be some way to run the stores on Shabbosos and Jewish holidays. "The unambiguous and resolute response of the halachic poskim was negative," reads the petition.

The petitioners even went to HaRav Yehoshua Neuwirth, author of the authoritative work Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchoso, asking him to give a clear, written response. "Throughout the generations Am Yisroel has guarded the embers of the Shabbat and has done so through mesirus nefesh, as we know from history," he writes. "Therefore as a Jew who loves Am Yisroel, if this is a condition for receiving the franchise--that the store be open on Shabbasos and holidays-- do not take part in the tender, and to our great sorrow the responsibility lies with those who trample over the sanctity of Shabbos."

Fair Competition

The petition argues that the two stores would cover a total of only 110 square meters out of many thousands of square meters of commercial space, and in any case its products, sunglasses, would be available for sale at athletic supply stores nearby that would presumably remain open on Shabbos. Furthermore the petition suggests the court take heed of the practice in other airports around the world where many of the duty-free stores are closed on Sundays. "If this is seemly for the nations of the world in this matter, it certainly should be seemly for the State of Israel, whose weekly day of rest is interwoven and integrated into the principles of the Jewish tradition, even beyond the social objectives of establishing a day of rest."

The petitioners also claim that the terms of the tender infringe on their freedom of religion and constitute a violation of Paragraph 2 of the Tenders Law which states, "The executor of a tender shall not discriminate among bidders based on their limitations, sex, status, parentage, race, religion, nationality, country of origin, worldview or party membership . . . "

The case also raises the question of the state's violation of the Work and Rest Hours Law at Ben Gurion Airport. "Even if the petitioners were interested in operating their stores on Shabbatot and Jewish holidays, by doing so they would be necessarily violating the directives of the Work and Rest Hours Law and the Equal Opportunity Law and in any case would be prevented, by law, from making a commitment to operate the stores on these days," reads the petition, citing Paragraph 9 of the law, which prohibits employing a worker on his weekly day of rest unless the Minister of Labor is convinced that stopping work for weekly rest would cause major economic damage. Since the petitioners are only asking to sell sunglasses at the airport, it does not appear closing the stores on Shabbos would cause damage to the Israeli economy.

*

This is the first High Court case to address the matter of anti-religious coercion by a government body. The High Court will be asked to determine whether the Freedom of Enterprise Basic Law, along with the Basic Law of Human Dignity and Liberty, only has the power to prevent working on Shabbos or whether it also has the power to prevent believing Jews from being required to open their businesses on Shabbos. Though the petition does not appear to have great chances of success the petitioners say they plan to see the case through to the finish.

 

All material on this site is copyrighted and its use is restricted.
Click here for conditions of use.