Stores open on Shabbat? Deri says ‘whatever’

After weeks of legislative wrangling surrounding the so-called mini-market bill that threatened to break apart the coalition, the minister most associated with the effort revealed to a Hebrew-language outlet that he does not intend to enforce the controversial law, designed to bolster Shabbat regulations.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who vowed to resign if the legislation wasn’t brought to the Knesset for a vote, told the Yedioth Ahronoth daily that the media had over-hyped the issue, and claimed he does not have the power to, nor does he intend to, force convenience stores to be shuttered on Saturdays.

“I can’t close shops on Shabbat. I can’t and don’t intend to enforce that law,” the ultra-Orthodox lawmaker said in a preview of the interview published Thursday. “Every person should approach this law in their respective city. If Givatayim residents aren’t bothered by the mini-markets issue, then that is okay. I don’t intend to get involved.”

“We didn’t initiate any religious legislation,” Deri insisted. “I really don’t need this law, because I know that with religious coercion and legislation you don’t get results. Neither I nor the ultra-Orthodox parties proposed the mini-markets law.”

In the interview, Deri also addressed the backlash he faced after he unsuccessfully tried to get MK Yehudah Glick to come to the Knesset to vote in favor of the legislation hours after his wife died.

Deri was heavily criticized for making the request of Glick, who was at his home for the traditional week-long mourning period known as shiva.

Deri told Yedioth that there was no religious prohibition against his request, defending his move by saying he had cleared it with a rabbi in advance.

“The rabbi of Otniel got on the phone and he said that it was certainly permitted under Jewish religious law, but each person should do as he feels. If I was sitting shiva — I wouldn’t hesitate to go [and vote].”

Deri lashed out against the criticism, saying that he regretted having “trusted people who leaked everything that went on there.”

“I won’t name any names, but they pulled a fast one on me,” Deri said.

The other major Hebrew-language dailies on Thursday continued their coverage of the terrorist attack Tuesday night that saw an Israeli father of six shot dead by Palestinian gunmen.

On their front pages, both the Yedioth and the Israel Hayom dailies feature large, emotional pictures of mourning family members at the funeral for Rabbi Raziel Shevach.

But it’s the cover of Israel Hayom that really seeks to pack a poignant punch. The free daily dedicates most of its first page to the bereaved family, noting that “six young children buried their father today.”

In contrast, the left-leaning Haaretz focuses on the IDF action taken in response to the attack — a lock-down imposed on the West Bank city of Nablus and its surrounding villages– rather than the funeral.

Its analyst Amos Harel writes that Shevach’s murder was carried out by a skilled terrorist cell, and was not a random drive-by shooting. He suggests that the terrorists may have used a lookout stationed on a nearby access road to pick out an easy mark: an Israeli driving alone after dark.

Yedioth on Thursday was the only paper to continue its coverage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son’s latest unflattering run-in with the Israeli media, featuring guest columns by people who appear to be a well-known Israeli author and artist, though their biographical details are missing.

In a biting open letter to Sara Netanyahu, children’s author Smadar Shir urges the first lady to set an example to Israeli women by publicly condemning her son’s disparaging remarks about women.

“All the women in the country are waiting for you to respond. It’s important for us to hear you denounce this attitude toward women that their sole purpose is for sexual gratification,” Shir writes. “Your silence, alongside Yair’s voice, is deafening.”

Striking a slightly more sympathetic tone, singer/songwriter David D’or says Netanyahu’s latest flap is a symptom of the extent sexism ingrained in society. He says the tendency to describe women as “pieces of ass” is indicative of how normalized the sexual objectification of women has become.

“This is the world that Yair Netanyahu was born into,” D’or writes. “The term ‘piece of ass’ has become an acceptable way to describe someone in our sick society. But as usual, all they talk about it is the symptom, not the problem.”