For the first time in Haifa's history, the municipality will
stop the sale of pork within city limits after a court upheld
a petition filed by legal rights organization, Betzedek.
One-and-a-half months ago Tiv Taam, which specializes in pork
and non-kosher meat, opened an outlet store in Haifa's Ramat
Alon neighborhood. When local UTJ activists asked Betzedek to
intervene in the matter, Chairman Rabbi Atty. Mordechai Green
sent an urgent letter to the Mayor of Haifa, demanding he
keep the store from opening.
In reply, the Mayor's Bureau said after that the famous
Solodkin case regarding the ban against pork sales, Tiv Taam
opponents would have to assess the opinion of nearby
residents by circulating a petition. Within a matter of days
neighborhood residents gathered the signatures of two-thirds
of all households in the neighborhood, but the municipality
nonetheless failed to take action to prevent the store from
opening.
Betzedek filed a petition against the municipality and Mayor
Yonah Yahav at the Court for Administrative Matters in Haifa.
In the first hearing it came to light that Tiv Taam's plans
to open the store were known to local activists as early as
2003 and they asked municipality officials to put a stop to
the decree.
On several occasions the Mayor promised that the store would
not open in Ramat Alon, and certainly not near religious
institutions and botei knesses. City councilmen claim
that the Mayor did indeed try to keep his promise but no
other business could be found to lease them a store. They
agreed pork should not be sold in close proximity to
religious educational institutions but said there are certain
doubts regarding the legality of the ordinance. Although the
Pork Ordinance was legislated 48 years ago the municipality
has never enforced it and numerous stores of this type are
scattered around the city.
Tiv Taam representatives argued that a negligible number of
Ramat Alon residents are religious and the store would serve
the neighborhood's secular majority. Anticipating these
contentions Betzedek asked the court to hear the views of
secular residents summoned to appear in court. One after the
other they testified the secular residents also staunchly
object to the sale of pork in the neighborhood, saying that
Tiv Taam's presence harms the character of the neighborhood.
They noted most of the signatures on the petition submitted
to the municipality belonged to non-religious residents.
Trying to make a good impression on the presiding judge, Tiv
Taam's attorneys pointed out that the store in Ramat Alon is
closed on Shabbos and holidays, unlike the majority of the
chain's stores.
The rov of the neighborhood, HaRav Chaim Katz, described the
tremendous harm the store causes all of the residents by
selling pork and non-kosher meat and by drawing customers
from other neighborhoods. He also related the harm done to
students and congregants at the local botei knesses.
HaRav Katz added that the law obligates businesses to close
on Shabbos yet at Tiv Taam the Shabbos "starts" well into the
night, which further aggravates residents who attend the
nearby botei knesses.
The court accepted the petitioners' arguments in principle
and scheduled another hearing for the following day. The
hearing opened with a further request by Betzedek to prevent
the Mayor, who was listed among the defendants in the case,
from issuing Tiv Taam a business license since the store
openly declared its intentions to transgress the city
ordinance, which Atty. Green said not only forbids the sale
of pork but also forbids authorizing or abetting the sale of
pork. The court decided to let the Mayor weigh the matter but
stated if he does not sign the license within two weeks the
court would issue an order to close the store.
Due to the urgency of the case the judge wrote a ruling on
the spot. The ruling requires the municipality to use its
vested authority to enforce the ordinance, making concerted
efforts as demanded by the situation, such as dispatching
inspectors, issuing reports and even filing indictments for
selling pork. Although the court's role in the case ended
with the ruling the judge took the unusual measure of setting
a follow-up hearing date in the event the municipality is
unsuccessful.
The case is expected to serve as a landmark for other local
authorities that refrain from enforcing the Pork Law in their
respective jurisdictions due to revenue or any other
considerations.
