In an emergency meeting during the Knesset recess, MK Yisrael Eichler had strong things to say about the movement toward mass desecration of the Shabbat in the holy land by allowing public transportation to run on Shabbat.
“I’m not talking about Shabbat itself that us believing Jews understand that G-d gave us the Shabbat as a gift and really people can’t drive around at all; not in a car or a taxi and neither should they smoke. But the founders of Zionism, not I, established that our state should have a religious character.”
“Diezengoff the mayor of Tel Aviv himself stood outside and prevented cars from entering the city on Shabbat. For us as keepers of the Torah and Mitzvoth, Shabbat observance is self-understood. But now we’re discussing the character of the state. The sole thing left of that Jewish character is that there’s no public transportation on Shabbat. Secular Jews also want Jewish character and want to feel the atmosphere of the Shabbat. If you want to make public transportation happen her on Shabbat, you should declare Israel a state of all its citizens with no ties to Judaism.”
Someone who called himself a Likud supporter presented himself and said he believes the state should allow its citizens to ride public transportation whenever they want. In the midst of the stormy session MK Eichler immediately replied: “You voted Likud? What did Menachem Begin (the Prime Minister from the Likud in the 80’s) say when he stopped El-Al from flying on Shabbat? He quoted the words of (Israeli writer and thinker) “Achad Ha’am” who said: “More than Israel watches over the Shabbat, the Shabbat watches over Israel.” The Israeli flag will not fly over Europe on Shabbat for this would be a desecration of the honor of the State of Israel.”
