US Secretary of Rice Condoleezza Rice has agreed to a request to slightly delay her arrival in Israel in order to avoid chilul Shabbos. She is now scheduled to land 15 minutes after Shabbos ends instead of approximately 90 minutes earlier.
Responding to the report, Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On, a champion of supporting an anti-Torah lifestyle, stated she is pained to hear that once again, “the government conceded to chareidi coercion”.
The change in Secretary Rice’s schedule was due to a request by the Shas Party.
Analysts explain that high-level officials realized they do not wish to give Shas any reason to break away from the coalition, moving the request up diplomatic channels, leading to Rice amending her schedule.
US Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who is scheduled to arrive in Israel Saturday night, will be working to save the latest so-called “peace process” that was launched in Annapolis.
As such, the senior US official will hold a trilateral meeting which will also include Defense Minister Ehud Barak and PA Prime Minister Salim Fayyad.
In the meantime, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni continues to signal progress in talks with Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), with the latter indicating Israel continues to engage in discussion concerning concessions regarding Yerushalayim.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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18 Responses
Don’t you think that there will be Chilul Shabbos in any event? an Arrival 15 minutes after Shabbos will in any case require ground preparations entailing Chilul Shabbos well before Shabbos ends. Neither Sec. Rice or her flight crew are Jewish. Why does Shas bother if there is Chilul Shabbos by Jews in Israel anyway?
Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On stated she is pained to hear that once again, “the government conceded to chareidi coercion”.
Her real pain will begin once her filthy presence is remoned from this earth.
It figures Shas would only care about Chillul Shabbos, but not about Yerushalyim! Cowards!
Why don’t you give credit where credit is due.
#1
because there will be LESS chillul Shabbos
Meretz MK Zahava Gal A.K.A Zeresh Gall
It may be a futile gesture but it’s more about the principle it represents; as for “chareidi coercion”- Ms. Gal-On- they aren’t asking you to keep shabbos; they are asking you to respect their beliefs; which any liberal worthy of the name should be able to swallow.
At least SOME respect for us and Hashem’s honor. May HKB”H take note of this gesture and make our side matzliach. Let us daven better and keep the Shabbos better this week than before.
Shas won’t lose funding and will look good if they yell about shabbos.OTOH they will claim they did not know about Yerushalayim till it was fait acompli
first line “US Secretary of Rice Condoleeza Rice” typo. it should read US Sec of State….
whys she going to israel? for more ‘peace talk’? dont they realize its not going to change. they’re speaking to a chamor, and how is a chamor spose to understand anything??!?!
I don’t know about Charedi coercion, but in a putative Jewish State, one would think that its ministers – all of them – would be proud to at least postpone matters of State to occur after its day of rest, if at all possible.
But since we’re dealing with Zionism here, the more they are reminded of their Jewishness, the more they realize their endeavor of nihye kichal ha’amim (and, therefore, their life’s goals) is worthless, so they do all in their power to throw off our holy Torah.
Raboisay, get ready for shabbos yourself!!
To “pashuteh yid”: What “hakatan” said is one-hundred percent true. I believe you’re missing the point. This has nothing to do with derech erets from the irreligious. This is a matter of tremendous chillul Hashem, which shows the entire world what “israel” is really about. The fact that they call the country “the Jewish State” is a total contradiction to anything about Jewishness. Even SOS Rice can understand that Shabbos and Jewish is synonimous. Yet, the jewish secularists feel the need to eradicate any basic feeling of true judiasm. I think “Israeli” Government ought to learn from this goy! As far as Hakaras Hatov- what exactly “good” has “Israel” done for Jews? Eradicating Yiddeshkeit? Causing the arab world to kill more jews? Or maybe it’s the fact that they make Galus harder for us? It’s not a secret, if you care to look into history, that this jew-hating “state of Israel” only caused us harm. The yidden worldwide would be alot safer had there been no State in first place. “Israel” as a country brings more bad attention and hatered, all over the world, than ever before. Please respond and explain your shocking comment.
The “Israeli” Government should learn from SOS Rice, a goy, about respecting shabbos! What a chillul Hashem Gal-on is! Is she aware of what awaits HER, upon HER arrival at the “G-D’s Airport”?!
They asked a non-Jewish woman not to be Mechalel Shabbos…Why?
Those preparing for her “90 minute later” arrival are *still* doing to be Mechalel Shabbos. And those that keep Shabbos could don’t have to greet her the minute she steps off the plane.
#18, it’s not that the non-Jew cannot be mechalel Shabbos – on the contrary; rather, the point here is that matters of State of a purportedly Jewish State have no reason to be scheduled for Shabbos and, furthermore, the request to postpone her visit until after Shabbos’s end was, therefore, more than appropriate.
And, as Ain Od Milvado so kindly backed me up and further clarified, Shabbos must be observed on a State level, regardless of one’s individual level of observance, since Israel is nominally a Jewish State and everyone knows Jews observe (to whatever degree) their Sabbath on the seventh day.
As far as the prep-work, it can theoretically be done by non-Jews, so that is, anyways, not an issue. But, regardless of who does the work, the State should be closed for business on Shabbos, which means that dignitaries and officials should not arrive on Shabbos.
Again, therefore, it is perfectly reasonable to request that Ms. Rice delay her landing by a few minutes so that the State should not have to do business on the holy day of the religion it claims to represent (but, of course, in reality, abhors).
Ain Od Milvado, #16, well said!! Would that other people, Jews and Non-Jews, were aware this!