Justice Minister Yosef Lapid and Trade, Commerce and Industry
Minister Ehud Olmert must present the Knesset with all
regulation changes in the Labor and Rest Hours Law, including
changes in the level of fines for violating the law by
working on Shabbos or opening a store on Shabbos, the
Knesset's legal advisor, Anna Schneider, announced on Monday
in response to a question posed by MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni.
According to a written legal opinion Schneider issued, not
only must the new changes regarding fines for violations of
the Labor and Rest Hours Law be brought before the Knesset
Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, but in fact all
changes in existing regulations must receive committee
approval. Rabbi Gafni's pointed question was intended to
prevent Olmert from bypassing the Knesset and approving the
changes unilaterally.
In the government's latest move towards destroying Judaism in
the State of Israel, Trade Minister Ehud Olmert is trying to
sidestep a directive issued by the Attorney General several
months ago to enforce the Work and Rest on Shabbat Law. To
make enforcement ineffective, together with Justice Minister
Tommy Lapid (Shinui) he drafted new regulations that reduce
fines for violations by 80 percent. The Mafdal Party rushed
to declare this the "last" coalition crisis before it leaves
the government.
According to the amended regulations, which have not yet
become official, the current NIS 5,000 ($1125) fine for a
first violation would drop to just NIS 850 ($190), while the
NIS 10,000 ($2,250) fine for a second violation would drop to
NIS 1,000 ($225), declines of 80 and 90 percent,
respectively.
Until now the fines deterred some store owners, although some
continued operating on Shabbos, opting to risk paying the
fine. Lowering the fines is expected to encourage many
business owners to open shop on Shabbos. Olmert even sought
to have his new regulations apply retroactively to violators
with outstanding fines.
Chamber of Commerce Chairman Avraham Birnbaum said that
Olmert and Lapid's new regulations are essentially intended
to bypass Attorney General Eliakim Rubinstein's directive
barring Olmert from instructing inspectors not to enforce the
Work and Rest Law properly.
MK Shaul Yahalom (Mafdal) said, "This is a violation of the
status quo and contradicts coalition agreements." He even
made an idle threat that Mafdal would abandon the Likud-
Shinui government saying, "One more crisis and the Mafdal is
100 percent out of the coalition."
It was at first thought that amending the regulations require
the approval of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice
Committee, which scheduled a meeting to discuss the issue.
However, it was discovered that there is no requirement for
Olmert to bring the changes to the Knesset committee for
approval or discussion, and he notified the committee that he
has no intention of bringing the regulations to the committee
at any time. It appears that Olmert wanted to draw out the
matter and amend the regulations without involving the
Knesset.
Coalition Chairman MK Gidon Saar expressed his discomfort
over the new regulations Olmert plans to institute, saying
they would cause a breach in the status quo, which the
coalition is obligated to abide by.
