Jerusalem Movie Theater Complex To Stay Shut on Shabbat
Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that a new Jerusalem movie complex must remain closed on Shabbat.
In its ruling on Sunday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Jerusalem municipality should renegotiate the contract with Cinema City and allow the city council to vote on it.
The Cinema City complex, with 15 theaters and some 50 restaurants and shops, opened last month in central Jerusalem.
The building permit issued in 2010 to the construction company included a stipulation from the Jerusalem municipality and the Finance Ministry that the complex remain closed on Shabbat. The complex was built on government property, and the municipality has said it should remain closed on Shabbat like all government offices.
Several private movie theaters in the city remain open during Shabbat, as are other attractions near Cinema City, including the Israel Museum and the Science Museum.
The theater’s owners are concerned about competition from other entertainment venues that remain open on Saturday, including a cultural complex currently under construction.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
