From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Haredi minister fines kitchenware firm NIS 280,000 for operating on Shabbat, vows crackdown on new mall near Tel Aviv
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
After levying a NIS 280,000 ($73,506) fine on a kitchenware firm Millennium Marketing for opening one of its branches in the Seven Stars Mall in Herzliya on Shabbat, Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur (Shas) warns that he will likewise penalize any shop that opens on the Jewish day of rest at the new BIG Fashion Glilot mall in Ramat Hasharon.
According to Hebrew media reports, the ultra-Orthodox politician states that his ministry “will increase supervision and fine all businesses that operate in violation of the law.”
In response, Yisrael Beytenu chief Avidgor Liberman writes on X that while Ben-Tzur is “fighting businesses in secular areas that are open on Shabbat,” Yisrael Beytenu “will continue to fight for the simple principle: live and let live.”
The Ramat Hasharon municipality in central Israel said last week that it would not enforce orders to shut BIG Fashion Glilot mall on Saturdays, the Jewish sabbath, despite a ruling from its own legal adviser and threats from the ultra-Orthodox community to boycott chains in the mall.
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