A nine-justice Supreme Court panel nullified today local laws forbidding the public sale of pig meat, ruling that the non-kosher product may be sold in certain areas. The judicial panel, headed by Chief Justice Aharon Barak, ruled unanimously that the towns and cities are advised to legislate permission to sell pork in accordance with the will of the townspeople. In Tiberias, for instance, a referendum on the matter is expected.
The ruling came in response to a three-year old suit by MK Marina Solodkin - currently of the Likud, but originally of the Russian-immigrant Yisrael B'Aliyah party - challenging the laws against public sale of pork.
Religious MKs reacted with fury. "Our Sages determined that one who raises pigs in the Land of Israel is cursed," MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) said, "and today we can say that judges who encourage the sale of pork must be treated with derision. During the times of the Maccabees, Antiochus forced the Jews to eat pig - and now Interior Minister Avraham Poraz [of Shinui] wants to do [something similar]. The first was forever marked with shame in the history of our people, and the second will be remembered with scorn in the history of the state."
Shas Party leader MK Eli Yeshai said, "This is a central nail in the coffin of Jewish identity in the State of Israel. A ruling like this is made as a result of the strengthening of the anti-Jewish atmosphere." Yeshai said he would promote legislation forbidding the sale of pig meat in Israel.
The ruling came in response to a three-year old suit by MK Marina Solodkin - currently of the Likud, but originally of the Russian-immigrant Yisrael B'Aliyah party - challenging the laws against public sale of pork.
Religious MKs reacted with fury. "Our Sages determined that one who raises pigs in the Land of Israel is cursed," MK Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) said, "and today we can say that judges who encourage the sale of pork must be treated with derision. During the times of the Maccabees, Antiochus forced the Jews to eat pig - and now Interior Minister Avraham Poraz [of Shinui] wants to do [something similar]. The first was forever marked with shame in the history of our people, and the second will be remembered with scorn in the history of the state."
Shas Party leader MK Eli Yeshai said, "This is a central nail in the coffin of Jewish identity in the State of Israel. A ruling like this is made as a result of the strengthening of the anti-Jewish atmosphere." Yeshai said he would promote legislation forbidding the sale of pig meat in Israel.