Labor chief warns coalition over Shabbat mini-market bill

Labor party chairman Avi Gabbay says a bill to shutter supermarkets on Saturdays will “blow up” in the government’s face.

He refers to a flurry of municipal efforts, namely in the central city of Givatayim, to relax restrictions on he Jewish day of rest in its local bylaws in response to the government legislation.

“I’m warning the coalition — the reality will explode in the face of the supermarkets bill,” he says.

Shabbat is “a special day, but we may leave synagogue and then go to the beach, or buy something in the supermarket. These are our lives, and no one may change it,” says Gabbay.

The Labor chairman also dodges a question about whether he supports the death penalty for terrorists, as the coalition Yisrael Beytenu party revives its proposal on the issue.

The proposal constitutes “coalition gift-giving” to Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, which the opposition party opposes, says Gabbay. He notes that military courts may now impose the death penalty, but choose not to, indicating that Israel’s security establishment finds the penalty ineffective.

— Marissa Newman