Soccer players in Israel will be able to continue playing on Saturdays after the government approved a waiver for the sport on the Jewish day of rest, officials say.
Matches held on Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath, have long been a cause of discord between nonreligious Israelis and the country’s ultra-Orthodox and religious nationalist communities.
Welfare and Social Affairs Minister Haim Katz signed the general waiver yesterday permitting soccer industry employees to continue working on Shabbat, his office says in a statement released this afternoon.
“The general authorization I have granted preserves the status quo that has been in effect since the creation of the state,” Katz says in the statement. “We will continue and strengthen the sport in Israel.”
The waiver was the result of a compromise reached with Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties, a key part of the governing coalition.
— with AFP
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