Vaadas HaRabbonim Lema'an Kedushas HaShabbos was unable to
reach a last minute agreement with El-Al shareholders and
company executives during five hours of negotiations at the
office of Atty. R' Yaakov Weinroth last Monday night.
According to Vaadas HaRabbonim, if the airline does not
pledge to keep Shabbos fully the committee will be forced to
submit a recommendation to gedolei Yisroel to issue an
official notice not to patronize El-Al.
Vaadas HaRabbonim Lema'an Kedushas HaShabbos, headed by
gedolei Yisroel shlita, met earlier on Monday with
Atty. R' Yaakov Weinroth, to present him with the final
guidelines drawn up by gedolei Yisroel after two weeks
of prolonged meetings with El-Al representatives.
Based on these guidelines Atty. Weinroth drafted a legally
binding agreement that he has presented to El-Al. The Vaadas
HaRabbonim hopes that El-Al will sign the agreement, thereby
resolving the ongoing crisis triggered when the carrier
operated dozens of flights on Shabbos to make up for
cancellations caused by a general strike. Signing the
agreement would preclude the need for gedolei Yisroel
to prohibit patronizing the airline. On Sunday the Admor
of Belz added his signature to the notice that was already
prepared and given to the askonim to use if
necessary.
However El-Al once again desecrated Shabbos by operating a
flight over Eretz Yisroel last Shabbos. Observers
spotted the plan and reported to the media, which even
printed photos of the flight. Vaadas HaRabbonim members were
deeply disturbed that El-Al continues to fly on Shabbos
during a period of negotiations in which the airline is being
asked to back its declarations it will no longer desecrate
Shabbos.
An El-Al spokesman said the plane had been undergoing repairs
in a hangar at Ben-Gurion Airport and was sent on a test
flight without passengers.
The Knesset recently rejected a no-confidence motion
submitted by UTJ and HaIchud HaLeumi-NRP over El-Al's Shabbos
flights. MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz said that if he were an El-
Al shareholder he would have fired the directors for showing
such poor judgment. "How could they give up such a large
sector with a sweep of the hand? We would very much like to
see El-Al prosper and succeed. But how can it be that such a
large sector, the chareidi public in the State of Israel, is
treated with such contempt? What about human dignity? Where's
the derech eretz toward [the passengers] and in light
of the fabulous past that sustained us throughout the
Diaspora — Shabbos Kodesh?"
He rejected criticism that the chareidi public is exerting
pressure by threatening a consumer boycott, saying that the
chareidi public had a longstanding agreement with the company
not to fly on Shabbos and now El-Al violated that agreement,
which is grounds for chareidim to stop patronizing the
company.
Rabbi Shmuel Bloom, executive vice president of Agudas
Yisroel of America, contacted heads of El-Al's US
headquarters to inform them of the gravity of the public
protest taking place in Eretz Yisroel and around the
world. He told them the wave of cancellations is growing and
thousands of shomer Shabbos passengers are avoiding
buying tickets for future El-Al flights as well. Rabbi Bloom
updated them on the notice being signed by gedolei
Yisroel and explained the far-reaching consequences it
would have if it has to be issued.
Gedolei Yisroel laid forth their instructions very
clearly, encouraging the Vaadas HaRabbonim in their efforts
to serve as delegates for gedolei Yisroel and telling
them not to budge from the directives set forth.
Meanwhile protests continue to gain momentum with more and
more El-Al customers canceling flight reservations. Chareidi
travel agents report in recent weeks El-Al sales are nil in
the chareidi sector, indicating the public is indeed heeding
the opinion of leading rabbonim that flying El-Al at present
is a chilul Hashem and might even pose a danger.
