In the battle for the sanctity of Shabbos and against the secularization of the Holy City, the Vaad HaRabbonim for Kedushas haShabbos have issued an urgent call expressing the pain of the Shabbos observant public against the severe and terrible increase of desecration of Shabbos in Jerusalem by money-grubber initiators who are hostile to the sanctity of Shabbos and seek to violate it publicly. This is in light of the fact that the Jerusalem municipality and its mayor and all those responsible for enforcing city bylaws are doing nothing to prevent the secular initiatives from gaining momentum.
Just this past week, a new breach took place in the Shrober Center in the Abu Tor neighborhood where a new complex with 16 cinemas desecrated the Shabbos and the sanctity of Jerusalem. Also a new coffee shop opened its doors in the Independence Park in the very center of town, near many shuls, with the encouragement and even initiative of the municipality.
The emphatic outcry of the Vaadas HaRabbonim stated: "The painful breaches of Shabbos desecration which are on the increase threaten to uproot the very sanctity of the Shabbos in public, in the very `palace of the King.' This is taking place with the support of private entrepreneurs as well as with municipal support and we cannot stand by in silence. Our outcry and protest will continue in every possible form to stem the ruination of the Shabbos and violation of the holiness of Jerusalem ir hakodesh."
