A Supreme Court ruling in Israel allowing some shops to remain open on the Jewish Shabbat has prompted anger from within Prime Minister Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, local media reported, on Thursday.
About 160 shops in Tel Aviv, a highly secular coastal city, can remain open on the Jewish Shabbat according to the decision, on Wednesday, by the High Court of Justice.
The decision drew scorn from religious coalition partners of Netanyahu’s Likud party, which in accordance with Jewish religious laws want work on the Shabbat to be banned.
Israeli radio reported that leaders of the coalition parties demanded an urgent meeting with Netanyahu to discuss the court’s decision, as the agreement between coalition partners was that there was no change to be made to current Shabbat laws.
A survey by the Israeli organisation Hiddush found at the start of the year that 78 per cent of Jewish Israelis are in favour of leaving shops in Tel Aviv open on the Shabbat.
A survey from the Pew Research Centre shows that about half of Jewish Israelis don’t consider themselves to be religious. (NAN)