Minister Eli Yishai: “The Sabbath has turned into a shopping day”; Yishai suggested opening day camps sponsored by Ma’ayan Hachinuch Hatorani (Shas’ Educational arm) for the secular population, in a session on The Social and Economic Implications of Adding another Day of Rest at the Caesarea Forum
Eli Yishai explained: “In the event that that the work week will be shortened and school will be canceled on Fridays, camps and classes will be established so that the kids will not be roaming the streets on Fridays. And, I will fight so that not only Shas’ educational system will have these programs but rather all educational systems. I’m willing to bring counselors and youth to occupy the children, all children, on Fridays.”
The session was hosted by the President of IDI, Dr. Arye Carmon, and attended by former Minister of Finance, MK Silvan Shalom (Likud); former Minister of Finance Avraham Shochat; MK Chaim Oron (Meretz-Yahad); MK Yitzhak Levi (Ichud Leumi-Mafdal); MK Shaul Yahalom (Ichud Leumi-Mafdal); Prof. Amir Barnea from the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center; CEO of Economic Models, Dr. Yaakov Sheinin; Chairman of the Coordinating Bureau of Economic Organizations, Mr. Shraga Brosh; President of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce, Adv. Uriel Linn; and former MK Adv. Nahum Langental.
Dr. Carmon introduced the topic: “A day of rest is first and foremost of social value, but practically all days of rest in Western cultures have other meaning as well. Today, for many Israelis, Friday is not a work day or a partial work day, and we must remember that we live in a society in which about 20% of its citizens consider Friday as their day of rest - from a religious standpoint. In the State of Israel there are some phenomena that have become status quo and have created a reality - including spending time at the mall. This is why we would like to raise the issue of adding an extra day of rest.”
Former Minister of Finance, MK Silvan Shalom (Likud) stated that towards the end of his term as Minister of Finance, he thought of shortening the work-week to 5 days following a global trend: "Today, the market functions on a globalized level, and everyone needs to gear themselves towards what is happening worldwide.- regardless of one's religion." MK Shalom claimed that turning Sunday into a day of rest (as opposed to Friday) would substantially benefit the Israeli economy: "I think that, today, we do not really have a normal weekend. Once Friday is a half-day, especially in the winter, and there is no public transportation, it's not effective. Turning Sunday into a day of rest in which the religious population could drive and shop and enjoy themselves would help the Israeli economy. I think that it would also increase social participation of the religious population in other areas as well, such as in sports events. If Sunday was a day of rest, there wouldn't be a need for everything to open on Saturday. This could be a positive and vital revolution that would connect us more closely to the rest of the world, make people less anxious, and reduce tensions between the religious and secular populations."
Former MK Adv. Nahum Langental spoke of his involvement in trying to pass legislation that would turn Sunday into a day of rest, and explained his motive: "It is unheard of that someone who is not rich and does not have a car, and I'm saying this as a religious person, won't be able to get around on his or her day off. It is unheard of that community centers won't operate on Shabbat and that cultural centers will be closed. On the other hand, it is unheard of that businesses won't hire religious workers simply because they can't work on Saturday. Therefore, we need a day in which everything will be open and accessible, including public transportation, and then, on Shabbat, everything can be closed. Does it really seem logical to you that in every soccer team in Israel there is not even one religious player? Does it seem right that a religious child that wants to play soccer would be told that he can't because the games are held on the Sabbath?
Adv. Uriel Linn, President of the Israeli Chambers of Commerce, said that we can't ignore the Jewish identity of the Sta