The Knesset State Control Committee asked State Comptroller
Micha Lindenstrauss on Tuesday to conduct an inquiry and to
issue an opinion regarding the lack of enforcement of labor
laws and business licensing laws by Israeli authorities,
which has allowed businesses to open on Shabbos in blatant
violation of the law.
The committee meeting was convened following requests by the
Forum of Grocery Store Owners in Tel Aviv and a request by
Ramat Gan Deputy Mayor Yossi Ehrenberg regarding the Ayalon
Shopping Mall. During the committee meeting, it was
acknowledged that the State of Israel legislates laws to
ensure Shabbos observance but that the law is openly violated
and authorities make almost no effort to halt it.
Ehrenberg said the Ayalon Shopping Mall compels shop owners
to open on Shabbos, threatening them with fines if they fail
to abide by the scheduled hours, which include Friday and
Saturday from 11:00 am to 1:00 am.
MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni said Israeli business moguls disregard
the law and the fines do not deter them. "I'm asking the
Deputy Prime Minister [Haim Ramon] and the Trade and Industry
Minister [Eli Yishai] to present an account of the dismal
situation to the government. There must be a government
policy regarding business moguls," he said, calling on all
citizens to patronize grocery stores that obey the law and to
boycott the large chains.
MK Rabbi Yaakov Litzman said he would have expected the
government and the authorities to regard Shabbos with at
least the same gravity with which they regard Independence
Day since both of them are explicitly mentioned in the Work
and Rest Hours Law, which was passed by the same Knesset.
MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) said, "The right to rest on
Shabbat is a right bestowed [on every citizen]. It is the
greatest gift Judaism gave to the world, and today this right
is being denied to workers at the major chains. Had this
happened abroad we would have denounced it as antisemitism.
The Work and Rest Hours Law must be enforced based on social
welfare considerations."
Yair Korach, chairman of the Merchants' Association, said
businesses opening on Shabbos is a problem across the
country, not just in Tel Aviv.
During the meeting, claims were lodged that the local
authorities deliberately overlook violations of the law
because it's convenient for them and serves a particular
segment of the population. It was also brought to light that
the fine for violations is only NIS 660 ($180) and businesses
that roll in enormous sums incur no real damage from this
amount.
Trade and Industry Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) said retail
chains totally disregard the Work and Rest Hours Law along
with other labor laws. He said his ministry pays visits to
all of the chains that disregard the law, including the
Ayalon Shopping Mall, Tiv Taam, AMPM, etc. "I won't go ahead
with business as usual when the workers are exploited and
forced to work on Shabbat," said Yishai.
He called on business owners to contact his ministry wherever
a breach related to the Work and Rest Hours Law takes place,
saying that during the past two years NIS 20 million ($5.5
million) and 40 inspectors have been added to boost
enforcement of the Work and Rest Hours Law.
Committee Chairman MK Zevulun Orlev (HaIchud HaLeumi-NRP)
summed up the meeting by saying that opening business on
Shabbos illegally has taken on epidemic proportions and he
voiced skepticism that the existing legal means are capable
of halting the spread of the plague, which has gone out of
control "like a cancer."
