After dozens of Ramat Gan postal employees refused to deliver copies of the New Testament on Monday, claiming such distribution is forbidden according to Jewish law, the Israel Postal Company has responded that all mail, regardless of its content, must be delivered.
Postal workers were given the Christian Bible, translated into Hebrew, as part of their regular delivery packages, but a number of workers, both observant and irreligious, refused to distribute such materials.
One postal employee told Yedioth Ahronoth: “We always distribute flyers for all sorts of businesses and organizations, and we have no problem with that, whether we agree with them or not, but this time it’s different. This is missionary material, and from the best of our knowledge there is a law against that. It’s not a religious issue.”
The mailmen approached MK Zevulun Orlev of the Habayit Hayehudi party on Monday, who then requested assistance from Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon (Likud). Kahlon asked the post office to halt delivery of the materials until the matter was resolved.
However, the post office issued an official response stating: “The Israel Postal Company Ltd. is a government company that operates in accordance with the Postal Service Law, which obligates it to deliver any item which it receives for distribution. The Israel Postal Company does not have the right or the ability to decide what to distribute and what not. For this reason, also in this case, the mailed items will be distributed in accordance with the law. “
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