Many Tel Aviv shops are resisting a new national law ordering them to close for Shabbat. Image by haaretz

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that some businesses and supermarkets may remain open on the Sabbath.

The decision issued Wednesday dealt with the operation of businesses in entertainment complexes including the Tel Aviv and Jaffa harbors along with the old train station, as well as the opening of supermarkets in some parts of the city.

“As I said four years ago, the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa was free and will remain free,” Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai said in response to the ruling.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Haredi Orthodox lawmakers, including Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, called the ruling a “severe blow” to the sanctity of the Sabbath.

Retail businesses in Israel are not permitted to open on the Jewish Sabbath. Businesses that ignore the ban are levied modest fines.

In 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality to enforce the ban. At the time, the municipality had been working to find a way to allow a percentage of the city’s grocery stores to stay open on Saturdays, using an amendment to the existing law. The stores would have been spread throughout the city, with fewer open in areas that are more religious and more in secular areas.

However, the interior minister at the time, Gideon Saar, did not approve the amendment.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount