The Foreign Ministry issued a directive requiring visits by
ranking foreign officials to Israel to take place during the
week and not on Shabbos said Mr. Rafi Shutz, deputy director
of scheduling at the Foreign Ministry, in a letter to MK
Rabbi Moshe Gafni.
Rabbi Gafni recently contacted Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom
to complain that during the visits of high-ranking state
visitors from various countries the Foreign Minister's
logistics coordinators have to desecrate Shabbos to serve
them even though they do not hold meetings with state
officials on Shabbos. Rabbi Gafni cited several examples of
state presidents and other dignitaries who have visited
Israel in the recent past. "Foreign Ministry workers,
including traditionalists who do not want to work on Shabbos,
are required to do so against their conscience," wrote Rabbi
Gafni. "Every guest who arrives in the Nation of the Jews
knows Shabbos is the central symbol of Judaism and in my
estimation they cannot comprehend how the State does not
uphold its values."
According to the reply from Mr. Shutz, writing in the name of
the Foreign Minister, state visits on Shabbos is not a new
phenomenon, but has been taking place for years. "In the past
Foreign Ministry workers were indeed compelled to work on
Shabbos as a result of this," Shutz acknowledges.
However, he writes, a directive has been issued by the
director of the Foreign Ministry to begin asking Foreign
Ministry workers in Israel and abroad to arrange with their
counterparts at other foreign ministries to ensure visits by
dignitaries are only held during the workweek. "The directive
even includes mention that in case of and due to scheduling
exigencies, flights or any other reason that might create a
situation in which a guest arrives in Israel on Shabbos or
leaves on Shabbos or stays in [the country] on Shabbos the
visit is to be classified as a private visit during the
course of Shabbos and during this time period the country's
embassy will have complete responsibility.
"The Director of the Foreign Ministry initiated this
directive out of respect for the importance of Shabbos in the
fabric of our lives and the view that we must respect our
values and then the nations of the world will respect us."
