The High Court rejected an "interpretation" by a regional
labor court that according to the law the term "Shabbat"
applies to the period of time from midnight Friday until
midnight Saturday.
Several months ago charges were filed against Iyov Yaakovian
for operating his store in Ramat Gan on Shabbos. The Tel Aviv
Regional Labor Court issued a peculiar ruling that because
the report was issued at 10:00 p.m. on Friday night the law
does not apply and therefore the charges should be
dropped.
The state attorney appealed the decision and the National
Labor Court upheld the appeal. Judges Steve Adler, Nili Arad
and Shmuel Tzur determined that the term "Shabbat" must
adhere to common usage within the Israeli public--which is
also the meaning of the word according to Jewish tradition--
according to which Shabbat commences Friday at sunset
(shkias hachamoh) and lasts until the stars come out
(tzeis hakochovim) at the end of the seventh day.
Yaakovian then filed a High Court appeal through attorney Uri
Kedar, but Judge Dalia Dorner concurred with the National
Labor Court's definition. "I do not see any room to honor the
request to grant an appeal since the National Court's ruling,
which rectified the obvious error in the Regional Court's
determination, does not necessitate perusal and review by
this court. Simply stated, the matter is clear to all that
the term `Shabbat' must be interpreted in light of its
meaning according to Jewish heritage," wrote Dorner.
