Interior Minister Avraham Poraz of the ultra-secular Shinui Party has announced for the second year in a row that he will not authorize inspectors to fine storekeepers who violate the law against the sale of hametz - bread, cakes, and the like - on the Passover holiday. The Matzot Holiday Law of 1986 states that stores in predominantly Jewish towns may not publicly display hametz for sale during the seven-day Passover holiday. Poraz, however, who claims to champion democracy and the rule of law - especially over the Jewish character of the State of Israel - stated that this particular law is "on the bottom of my priorities as Interior Minister," and that he will therefore not authorize the inspectors. Referring to the fact that Passover commemorates, among other things, Jewish freedom from Egyptian bondage, Poraz stated, "My freedom is to eat bread on Passover."
Poraz, whose party platform is largely an anti-religious one, also added that he decided not to authorize the inspectors because "not one local council submitted the required list of inspectors it wishes to authorize." Shinui Party aides added that the towns did not do so "after having learned from last year that Poraz will not authorize them."
Poraz's selective implementation of democratic values and the back he often turns on Jewish values has, predictably, raised the ire of many Jewish leaders. National Religious Party leader Housing Minister Effie Eitam said at today's Cabinet meeting that democratically-accepted laws against the sale of forbidden foods must be enforced as prescribed by the law. "This is not a prerogative of Minister Poraz," Eitam said, "and he cannot selectively enforce the law... His announcement is an insult to hundreds of thousands of residents who observe the Passover tradition and Jewish laws and customs."
Chief Rabbi David Lau of Modiin spoke with Arutz-7 today about the decision not to enforce the hametz laws. "First of all, it pains me. The Russian Jews who came here 10-15 years ago, even if they only knew one thing about Judaism, it was the concepts of 'hametz' and 'Pesach' [Passover]. This is one of those time-honored customs that every Jew knows everywhere. Yesterday, I went into a school and told the children about a prayer composed in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp one Passover, which stated, 'Master of the Universe, we are commanded not to eat hametz, but You have also commanded us to do what we must to remain alive. To our great sorrow, we can only fulfill one of these commandments this year, and we must therefore eat hametz in order to fulfill the other commandment and remain alive so that hopefully we will merit to get out of here and fulfill both commandments in future years.' It is therefore very painful to see the devaluation of this Torah value."
Rabbi Lau said that in addition to calling upon the government to enforce the law, "we must also promote the values of the Sabbath and the holidays via education and personal example, so that there simply won't be a demand for products that violate Jewish law."
Poraz, whose party platform is largely an anti-religious one, also added that he decided not to authorize the inspectors because "not one local council submitted the required list of inspectors it wishes to authorize." Shinui Party aides added that the towns did not do so "after having learned from last year that Poraz will not authorize them."
Poraz's selective implementation of democratic values and the back he often turns on Jewish values has, predictably, raised the ire of many Jewish leaders. National Religious Party leader Housing Minister Effie Eitam said at today's Cabinet meeting that democratically-accepted laws against the sale of forbidden foods must be enforced as prescribed by the law. "This is not a prerogative of Minister Poraz," Eitam said, "and he cannot selectively enforce the law... His announcement is an insult to hundreds of thousands of residents who observe the Passover tradition and Jewish laws and customs."
Chief Rabbi David Lau of Modiin spoke with Arutz-7 today about the decision not to enforce the hametz laws. "First of all, it pains me. The Russian Jews who came here 10-15 years ago, even if they only knew one thing about Judaism, it was the concepts of 'hametz' and 'Pesach' [Passover]. This is one of those time-honored customs that every Jew knows everywhere. Yesterday, I went into a school and told the children about a prayer composed in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp one Passover, which stated, 'Master of the Universe, we are commanded not to eat hametz, but You have also commanded us to do what we must to remain alive. To our great sorrow, we can only fulfill one of these commandments this year, and we must therefore eat hametz in order to fulfill the other commandment and remain alive so that hopefully we will merit to get out of here and fulfill both commandments in future years.' It is therefore very painful to see the devaluation of this Torah value."
Rabbi Lau said that in addition to calling upon the government to enforce the law, "we must also promote the values of the Sabbath and the holidays via education and personal example, so that there simply won't be a demand for products that violate Jewish law."