Never in the history of the state has there been a Prime
Minister who disdained his coalition partners as does Ehud
Barak. The UTJ party, on the instructions of maranan
verabonon, asked for nothing in exchange for joining the
coalition two months ago except for an arrangement whereby
the draft threat will not loom over the heads of yeshiva
students. It didn't ask for benefits, nor for parliamentary
positions nor jobs. Its only request was: Give me Yavneh and
its sages.
From a political standpoint, the Prime Minster benefited
from UTJ's joining the coalition, because he had their votes
and still had additional jobs that he could give to his other
partners in the coalition.
But Barak talked tough. "I won't yield to chareidi
blackmail," "The chareidim will only lose if they leave the
coalition," are only some of the comments of Barak late last
week, in his reference to UTJ's announcement that it would
leave the coalition if the turbine was transferred on Shabbos
from Ramat Hasharon to Ashkelon.
"In the early years of the State, when Mapai was in power,
the government's heads knew quite well how to accord a
modicum of respect to their coalition partners. Barak is the
boss. He will determine what will occur in the state, and how
its Jewish character will be fashioned. He will change the
status quo as he sees fit. In brief, he is the baal
habayis of the state, and everyone has to listen to him,"
said various politicians, in reference to Barak's behavior
during the current turbine crises.
The Prime Minster Stubbornly Insists
Last Thursday, after the official announcement that the party
would withdraw from the coalition in the event that the
turbine was transferred, in accordance with the guidelines of
maranan verabonon, it seemed as if the Prime Minister
would be forced to interfere.
But no. The Prime Minister insisted that this was a totally
"professional" issue and that the turbine would be
transferred precisely as planned, and precisely according to
the decision of the high ranking officials in the Traffic
Department of the Police which stated that the component
(this week a superheater) could not be transferred during the
week because it would block vital traffic arteries. Barak
declared that "he won't yield to chareidi blackmail," echoing
the anti-religious stereotypes that unfortunately
characterize public discussions in Israel.
Sources close to Barak had warned chareidi representatives
that the prime minister was not going to give in this time:
"He'll go to early elections, he won't tell the power company
to cancel their order, and he won't come out against the High
Court of Justice," one of his emissaries told MKs from the
United Torah Judaism party. "The ones who will lose from
leaving the coalition are the chareidim, whose interests will
be harmed," said Barak, who frequently lectures others on
what their real best interests are, according to him. (Arafat
is reported to have rejected his advice angrily on at least
one occasion.)
However, on Friday morning the Prime Minister finally
understood that UTJ indeed was planning to withdraw from the
coalition, and that Shas was hot on its heels. Shas chairman
Eli Yishai, so said the media, even instructed the ministers
of his party to prepare letters of resignation. The loss of
22 MKs would be a big blow. As a result, the Prime Minister
decided to enter the picture, and "to indeed yield," and open
negations with UTJ. Meimad Minister Michael Melchior and
government secretary Yitzchak Herzog led the efforts to find
a solution.
The members of UTJ at first informed Minister Melchior and
the government's secretary, Yitzchak Herzog, that there was
nothing to talk about. "The rabbonim have instructed us to
resign if the turbine is transferred. it. There's nothing to
talk about, especially in light of the declarations of the
Prime Minister."
Barak began to feel pressured, and he softened his speech. He
issued an announcement in which he said: "The State of Israel
is a state of law, a Jewish and democratic state in which the
rule of the law, and Shabbos is one of its values." Later,
officials in the Prime Minster's office were quoted as saying
that Barak is serious in his intention to lessen the amount
of Shabbos desecration in the country.
UTJ asked for a more direct statement about Shabbos and they
got it, as Barak wrote, "The prime minister sees Shabbos as
an important value, which has preserved Israel throughout the
generations, and he refrains from attempts to create tension
and desecration of the Sabbath over the issue."
The official, explicit mention of Shabbos in this context was
one of the steps that UTJ had asked for, and this statement
cleared the atmosphere and paved the way for what
followed.
The Prime Minster Backs Down
During a visit to injured soldiers in Haifa, Barak said, "In
a normal and modern state like Israel, professional and
security issues should not serve as political trading cards.
. . .I believe that the issue of the turbine transfer should
not be transformed into a struggle over the religious
identity of the State nor into an Independence Day
celebrations for the secular."
The agreement that was finally reached said that loading and
unloading the component would not be done on Shabbos, that
the actual transfer would be done by non-Jews, and that
future transports would not take place on Shabbos.
What Really Happened on Shabbos?
Under the arrangements made, the turbine part -- last week a
250-ton superheater -- was loaded on the transport vehicle
before Shabbos in Ramat Hasharon in north Tel Aviv, was
transported as much as possible by non-Jewish workers, and
was left parked opposite the new Rutenberg power plant in
Ashkelon, where it was unloaded after Shabbos ended.
The convoy carrying the load began its journey shortly before
8 on Friday night (about an hour after Shabbos starts in
Israel these days), and arrived in the parking lot opposite
the Ashkelon power station some 13 hours later.
Around 200 Shinui supporters lined a bridge spanning the road
near the start of the route north of Tel Aviv. "I'm happy
that the rule of law has again beat out the rule of the
rabbis," Shinui leader Yosef (Tommy) Lapid said.
Many Bnei Brak residents came out to demonstrate at the Coca
Cola intersection where the transport route passes by. Shinui
and One Israel activists also arrived on the scene and
cheered the convoy along. Policemen were stationed at the
junction in order to prevent the secular demonstrators from
clashing with the chareidim. One Israel officials had
announced that they would show their support of the Shabbos
transport by demonstrating on the bridge between Bnei Brak
and Givat Shmuel.
United Torah Judaism MK Avrohom Ravitz said to
Ha'aretz, "The solution reached isn't perfect, in
regard to halacha, but the willingness to go in the
direction of halacha solves the symbolic problem . . .
concerning the insistence on Shabbos desecration."
The transport company later claimed that on such short
notice, it was impossible to replace the experienced drivers,
and therefore, the two drivers who had led the previous
convoy were employed again. (See interview with Albert Cohen,
Friedenson's project manager.)
Yediot Acharonot published a diagram under the heading
"Find the Differences." It included two tables with the data
of last Friday's transfer and of the preceding transfer.
Following are the facts according to them: The loading took
place in both cases prior to Shabbos. On both occasions, one
of the drivers was a Jew, the other a non-Jew. Seven Jewish
maintenance men were present both times; scores of Jewish
police were present both times; the dismantling took place
after Shabbos both times.
According to Ma'ariv, 45 workers participated in the
transfer of the turbine. 18 of them were traffic police, and
7 more were employees of the Friedenson transport company.
The remainder were subcontractors who engaged mainly in the
dismantling and reinstalling fences and traffic lights along
the course of the turbine.
All 18 policemen, Ma'ariv reports, were Jewish. Out of
the seven employees of the transport company, only two
drivers were non-Jews, while all five of the other workers
were Jews. Only the workers of the subcontractors, who were
engaged mainly in the dismantling of traffic lights and
signs, were all non-Jews.
"The promises given this past Friday, to place the turbine on
the truck before Shabbos and to remove it after Shabbos were
given only in order to pull the wool over the eyes of the
chareidim. This is standard procedure in transferring
turbines," Ma'ariv concluded.
But apparently Ma'ariv missed the point. The issue was
not one of halachic propriety, since in any case the
transport would not have met even minimal halachic standards.
The point was to demonstrate respect and consideration for
Shabbos and to ensure that things will be better in the
future. This was the "symbolic problem" that Rabbi Ravitz
spoke about.
The Day After
On Sunday, after the latest transport, UTJ convened a special
party meeting on the issue and reached the following
decisions:
1. The party notes the fact that the loading of the turbine
was done prior to Shabbos and the unloading after Shabbos.
The party has been told that the transfer was done by non-
Jews.
2. The solution formulated on Friday is not a permanent one.
Therefore the party demands that heavy components stop being
transferred by government bodies and by national companies on
Shabbosim and holidays, as was promised.
3. The party noted the remarks of the Prime Minister
regarding the importance of the value of Shabbos, and hopes
that the Committee of Directors General will act in
accordance with this statement.
Rabbi Yisroel Eichler also proposed that from now on, in
every crisis of this sort, the issue should be properly
explained to the media, especially in the secular sector.
They Continue to Avoid a Solution
Immediately after the UTJ meeting, two of its members, MK
Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz and MK Rabbi Yaakov Litzman hurried to
the meeting of the Committee of Directors General. This
committee was formed after the Prime Minister accepted the
proposal of Minister Yitzchak Levi to establish a high level
team which would deal with the overall technical aspects of
future transfers.
The committee includes the directors-general of the
Transportation, Infrastructure, Internal Security, and Labor
and Social Affairs ministries, along with United Torah
Judaism MKs Yaakov Litzman and Avrohom Ravitz.
The directors general will work with Minister Michael
Melchior. At the meeting of the committee, the directors of
the government offices attempted to continue to undermine the
solutions proposed on Friday. Some of them claimed that it is
impossible to prepare parking areas for the heavy components
on the country's highways if the components are transferred
during the nights in the middle of the week. Some of them
said to the UTJ representatives, "Let us just transfer three
more components, and it'll be all over."
The UTJ representatives on the committee staunchly refused.
"We are not willing to accept your proposals. We did not come
here to find other ways to transfer the components on
Shabbos. We have met in order to examine the ways to transfer
the components on weekdays, by preparing parking areas for
the heavy components," they told the members of the Directors
General Committee.
Friedenson's attorney, Yechiel Gutman, promised that in
forthcoming transfers, only non-Jews would be employed on
Shabbos. He thus indirectly confirmed that not all of the
workers last Shabbos were non-Jews, as had been promised on
Friday.
Gutman made it clear to the committee that his client is not
interested in violating Shabbos, but that no better solution
has as yet been proposed. He said that if there is another
transport on Friday night, every effort would be made to use
only non-Jews. Gutman conceded that two Jews were involved in
the transport of the superheater this Friday night, despite
the company's best efforts to adhere to the compromise which
called for the transport to be handled by non-Jews.
One of the more realistic alternative solutions put forth
would have the next part, set to move on Friday night,
transferred in two stages: on Thursday night and Saturday
night. In the interim, the transport would be stored on a
special lot.
The possibility of building a new, enlarged lot -- which
could take up to a month -- is also being examined.
If no solution is found, it is most likely that the IEC
transport will indeed move this Friday night. Gutman said
that on the following Friday, which is also the first night
of Rosh Hashanah, there would in any case be no transport.
A Weekday Solution to be Announced
A proposal to move the turbine on weekdays, by preparing
parking sites along the route, will reportedly be announced
on Tuesday by the directors' general committee. According to
this solution, the turbine would be moved over three nights,
resting during the day in special parking areas prepared
along the route. The Public Works Department is expected to
announce that from an engineering standpoint, parking areas
for the turbine can be prepared in one week. The cost is
expected to be NIS 20-30,000 ($5-7,000). One site is near the
Ganot interchange and the other near the Ashdod interchange.
The police are expected to say that from the point of view of
traffic, this solution is possible, albeit less than ideal.
They say that there is a significant risk if anything goes
wrong.
Leading Up to Last Week
Two of the six turbine sections had already been transported
over the past two months on Friday night and Shabbos morning.
The police gave permits to transport the sections only on
Shabbos because of the size of the load and the slow speed at
which it could travel.
The first transport took place before anyone realized what
was going on. Before the second transport, chareidi MKs and
ministers made efforts to shift it to sometime during the
week. MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said that 117 similar projects
were transferred from Shabbos to weekdays during 1998.
After the second transport, Labor and Social Affairs Minister
Eli Yishai informed the police that the move was illegal,
because Friedenson's Jewish employees had not been given
Shabbos work permits. After State Attorney Edna Arbel
instructed the police not to escort the transport because the
Jewish employees were breaking the law, Friedenson petitioned
the High Court. A few days later, Am Hofshi, a secular rights
activist group, submitted a second petition.
The outcome was a foregone conclusion knowing the court's
attitude to religious issues and also after the State
Attorney's Office refused to defend Yishai, who told the
court that he could not grant the permits since he needed
more time to study the request.
MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz said that "from the outset we did not
expect the High Court to be the body which would protect
Shabbos kodesh. But we thought that nonetheless, the
Court would take into consideration the more than a million
citizens of the State of Israel for whom Shabbos is precious -
- and it disappointed us even in this.
"The Court, with a swirl of pen and in a matter of ten
minutes, undermined the sanctity of Shabbos, and offended
over a million citizens of the State. The judges did not take
the trouble to examine if the professional considerations of
the police were indeed correct, and if it is really totally
impossible to move the turbine on weekdays.
"Every intelligent person understands that it is easier to
move such a huge load on Shabbos. But in light of the
professional opinion which I examined, I conclude that it is
possible to move the turbine on weekdays too. Of course, with
difficulties.
"Yes it is hard to be a Jew, and we have given up our lives
for this purpose from the time we became a nation.
"This ruling is a grave statement, and its implications
extend far beyond the ruling itself. It is very serious that
the High Court determined that sacred values of the Torah
observant community, are of no import when they consider
their ruling.
"We must face this truth, and to know where we stand in the
struggles which face us in the future."
Rabbi Ravitz is being conservative in claiming only a million
Israelis are offended by the Shabbos move. He counted only
the voters of UTJ and Shas. The real figure is probably
triple that number.
MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said: "I hope that the Minister will not
sign the Shabbos work permits. There is no law in the State
of Israel which obligates the desecration of Shabbos in order
to make life easier. The only reason for desecrating Shabbos
is if life is at stake, or if there is a possibility that
life is at stake, neither of which is the case here.
"Once again, the court has expressed itself on an ideological
matter of conscience. It's not a matter of law. Most of the
justices do not regard the issue of Shabbos kodesh as
uppermost in their order of values, as opposed to the
conscience of one who was raised on the value of Shabbos
observance.
"But the court preferred comfort over the value of Shabbos
observance, and preferred that Jews should desecrate the
Shabbos for an issue which isn't pikuach nefesh or
even possible pikuach nefesh. I hope that Minister
Yishai won't sign the work permits, and that an alternate for
moving the turbine will be found.
"I also, view with gravity the fact that the State Prosecutor
came to Court with a predetermined notion that Shabbos may be
desecrated. This is very serious, and we must take this into
our considerations."
The Gedolim Speak
At a special consultation session held by the gedolei
haTorah vehaChassiduus, on Wednesday night the 14th of
Elul, maranan verabonon said that in addition to the
massive Shabbos desecration caused by the proposed transfer
of the compound, a tremendous chillul Hashem would be
created by the public trampling of Shabbos in so
demonstrative a manner. They told the UTJ Knesset
representatives that if the turbine is transferred on
Shabbos kodesh they must protest the desecration and
may not continue to sit in a coalition that supports massive,
tendentious Shabbos desecration. UTJ must not remain silent,
but must withdraw from the coalition immediately, they were
instructed.
The decision now rests with maranan verabonon the
gedolei haTorah shlita, who will determine whether
there was a breach of promise, or whether we will continue to
sit in the coalition, and that the promises not to transfer
additional components on Shabbosim will indeed be
fulfilled.
