The chareidi community is infuriated over the transfer of an
additional -- the sixth and last -- Electric Company heavy
Compound, known as the "turbine," on Friday night, the 29th
of Tishrei. It left the Taas enterprise in Ramat Hasharon on
its way to the power station in Ashkelon. Many Jews were
involved in the various technical aspects of the transfer.
In reaction, Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz said, "The Government did
not fulfill the expectations it raised, and made no efforts
to prevent the last of the turbines from being transferred on
Shabbos. This is indicative of the Government's attitude
toward the religious sector in Israel, and also deepens the
rift in Israeli society."
Rabbi Gafni said: "To my dismay, no practical or serious
attempt was made to cope with this simple problem which could
have been resolved so easily. Apparently, the Prime Minster's
statement that `he never yields to anyone,' also includes
Shabbos kodesh. At a time when the problem of the
turbine transfer has become a celebrated and publicized
issue, due to the policy of the Prime Minster's office, the
Prime Minister was obligated to forestall the terrible
undermining of one of the most hallowed values of the Jewish
Nation: Shabbos kodesh. Since he hasn't done this, he
is answerable, and Shabbos will demand its due."
Yated Ne'eman's article on Thursday, Tishrei 26, which
appeared prior to the transfer of the turbine on the
subsequent Shabbos night, resulted in an outpouring of anger
and pain among Shabbos-observant Jews throughout Eretz
Hakodesh and the world at large, who were deeply
distressed by the immense amount of Shabbos desecration which
ensued.
As directed by maranan verabonon, the gedolei
Yisroel, UTJ resigned from the coalition when the Prime
Minister and his Government did not fulfill their promise not
to transfer the turbines on Shabbos. Barak's assurances that
the components would be transferred on a weekday proved
false. No useful effort was made by the Government ministers
involved in the affair to prevent the massive Shabbos
desecrations.
UTJ, which led the battle against the Shabbos desecration,
gave Barak's government time in which to find solutions for
transferring the turbine on weekdays. Various suggestions
were made, such as transferring the turbines over a number of
nights during the week. The Prime Minister, by means of
Minister Michael Melchior, proposed that the turbine be
transferred by non-Jewish workers. However, investigations
proved that this was merely a ploy, and that the turbines
were actually transferred by Jews. In an interview with
Yated Ne'eman, Albert Cohen, director of the transfer
project, confirmed that although he is a Shabbos-observing
Jew, he was forced to desecrate Shabbos as a result of the
transfer.
Maranan verabonon had also said that we could not in
any case countenance a precedent in which massive Shabbos
desecration is perpetrated by non-Jewish workers, and that
such a precedent is liable to lead to the breach of all of
the walls of Shabbos. Rabbonim and public figures said that
we must not forget that the incident involved deliberate and
premeditated Shabbos desecration, whose purpose was
lehach'is. They said that the Government callously and
stubbornly rejected all of the practical suggestions to
prevent the Shabbos desecration, and that their decision to
transfer the turbine precisely on Shabbos kodesh out of
irrelevant interests manifests exceptional intransigence.
Prominent rabbonim and communal figures warned: "The failure
of the government headed by Ehud Barak to accede to the
demand of hundreds of thousands of Shabbos observers in the
country to avert the transfer of the turbine on Shabbos
kodesh and to forestall the disgraceful Shabbos
desecration, will case a deep rift in the Nation. The
transfer is indicative of the government's deep rooted scorn
for our most sacred Jewish values."
The transfer of the turbine on Shabbos with the full backing
of the government caused much pain and anger in the chareidi
community. All were deeply upset by the tremendous chillul
Hashem manifested by the trampling of Shabbos
lehach'is. In addition, they were upset by the manner
in which the Government pulled the wool over the eyes of the
chareidim by means of false promises, thereby offending the
sensitivities of thousands of Shabbos-observant Jews and
creating a serious precedent of public trampling of Shabbos.
Reports of this massive Shabbos desecration were publicized
in Jewish communities abroad, and resulted in troubled
reactions. Rabbonim and communal figures from abroad visiting
Eretz Yisroel during the yomim tovim expressed
their anguish over this Shabbos desecration and over Barak's
disregard of the status quo. They then strengthened the
chareidi representatives who are following the guidelines of
maranan verabonon and encouraged them to remain on the
alert and to protest all such future acts.
They added that the current Government is taking measures
which will be neither forgotten nor forgiven, and that the
heads of the Government should not think that Torah-true
Jewry in Israel and abroad will consent to remain silent or
to forgive or forget this disgraceful behavior.
