Jerusalem – A committee responsible for appropriations in the Jerusalem municipality has decided not to fund the local rugby team after religious city council members discovered the team plays on Shabbat.
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Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat announced that he would have the committee’s funding decisions overturned by the city council. The rugby team, which has been in existence for the past 30 years but has never asked for city funding, is seeking NIS 10,000 in municipal support. The team’s 15 players include foreign journalists and U.N. employees based in Israel.
More at Haaretz.com
Kiddush hashem, nir barakat should be ashamed of himself
Let the UN pay for it this is Israel providing funds for its enemy’s a habit that they just can’t seem to get rid of
If they are just an amateur team why do they need public funding? Let them find a corporate patron.
The city pays stipends for many yidden who are shomer shabbos…why should they discriminate against those who are not. All should be treated equally without regard to whether or not they are frum.
Mayor Barakat may wish to create a city that all types of people can feel welcome. However that laudable goal should never be done at the expense of the city’s Jewish nature. Indeed maintaining the City’s Jewish Character most include public support of Shabbat observance and not ecouraging its desacration. Such a position reenforces the appropriateness of the city remaining whole and not served to nations as a chopped up stew