Israel – Shabbat Wars Come To Gardening Nurseries

Israel – The Shabbat wars continue to find new battle grounds it seems, with Yesh Atid MK Haim Jellin protesting on Thursday against fines levied by the Economy Ministry against gardening nurseries which open on the Sabbath. 

In recent weeks, several dozen nurseries around the country have received warning notices informing them that they will be heavily fined if they continue to open on Shabbat. 

Nursery owners argue that some 30 percent of their income is derived from Shabbat trade when many people have the time to visit and buy what they need, and that closing on Shabbat would cause them significant financial damage. 

The warnings from the Economy Ministry stated that if he nurseries continued to open on the Sabbath they would be subject to  fines of several hundred thousand shekels. 

The Law for Work and Rest Hours prohibits forcing someone to work on Shabbat, while most municipal jurisdictions prohibit commercial activity on Shabbat, but permit businesses providing leisure and entertainment to operate.

Nursery owners and Jellin argue however that nurseries have been open on Shabbat for many years without state interference and say that the possibility of being fined is unjust. 

“Shabbat and actualizing the values inherent in it is one of the most important and complicated issues in the Jewish and democratic state,” said Jellin. 

“All citizens should be allowed to implement the values of Shabbat in their own way and in accordance with his own beliefs. The uniqueness of Shabbat as the state-mandated day of rest should be preserved but on the hand allow activity which provide the needs of all Israeli citizens.”

The MK said that such issues should be resolved through discussion and called for an emergency debate on the issue in Knesset. 

The Economy Ministry said in response that the Law for Work and Rest hours was “designed to protect workers and allow them a day of rest every week when they are have no obligations to their employees. 

The ministry said that the law did not prevent opening a business on Shabbat but rather prohibited employing workers on their day of rest, “Jews on Shabbat and non-Jews in accordance with their faith,” and that nurseries could employ non-Jews to work on Shabbat if they so wished.