An apartment owner will be able to install, at his own expense and without the consent of the other apartment owners, a device enabling automatic usage of a water pump without Shabbos desecration. This will be made possible through a bill proposed by the chairman of the Knesset Interior Committee, Rabbi Yaakov Asher.
The bill, first presented in the previous Knesset, details the conditions of the installation, such as prior notification of thirty days before the installation to the building representative and to all the home owners. The installing owner must obligate himself to reinstate the previous condition at his expense if there will no longer be a need for it.
This bill is an extension of a previous bill of MK Rabbi Asher to enable all home owners to choose a kosher water pump for Shabbos usage which the Water Authority is obligated to provide. It should be noted that since the law went into effect, thousands received kosher devices and almost wherever there were several requests for them, it was decided, for logistic purposes, that it was best to install them in the entire area. Thus, many Jews are able to keep Shabbos halachically even without their knowledge.
In a discussion carried on then, Rabbi Asher said, "From a halachic aspect, there are many Shomrei Shabbos families living in high rise buildings who refrain from using tap water on Shabbos since every turn of the faucet activates an electric water pump in the building."
A representative of the Justice Ministry who participated on the sidelines of the discussion said, "This is a vital law which preserves citizen rights."
The legal advisor of the Association for Tarbut Hadiyur noted that they receive many requests from religious residents of all kinds from all over the country regarding this subject. "We must understand that we cannot tamper with the many rights of the religious apartment owner. He also deserves to enjoy, like everyone else, the use of water without violating the Shabbos. If this is not provided, he is being deprived of his basic rights."
Rabbi Yehuda Heinrich, electric engineer from Mishmerez HaShabbos, presented an explanation how the systems work in a very professional manner as abiding with the rules of installations and without other neighbors feeling any difference. Ariel Cohen from the organization noted that he was speaking in the name of many Shomrei Shabbos families living in mixed neighborhoods who are unable to use water on Shabbos so long as the Shabbos device is not installed upon the electric pumps.
