One of the issues discussed was the observance of the Sabbath in the public domain. This is one of the major points of contention in Israel. For the observant Jew, the Sabbath is the Holy of Holies, and he is ready to sacrifice much in order to observe it. For others, the Sabbath is less important, and what interests them is having public transportation and open stores to shop at on their day off from work.
The National Union is proposing that the Israeli work week be changed to be in synch with most of the world. Instead of working from Sunday to Thursday, Israel will work from Monday to Friday (finishing work on Friday early enough to prepare for the Sabbath). The idea is that Sunday will be the day off where Israelis can go to the beach, shop, etc. and the Sabbath will be more strictly kept in the public sphere.
This is a very major idea, a game changer. I think that it is worth a try.
Predictably, the press ignored this item and concentrated on Rabbi Yehoshua's remarks on the LGBT issue:
It was a great speech. Here's a pic:“I have invested many hours in helping those who have difficulty in this area [of homosexuality],” he said. “But there is an illness that is spreading and taking over. We’re becoming a country that looks more and more like LGBT-stan.”
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