EXCERPT: A proposal to put Israel on a shortened work week, with Friday a half-day and Sunday a vacation day, may be buried before it gets off the ground.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed on a Knesset committee to discuss the proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, but it quickly ran into opposition from Arab Knesset Members and Shas party’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
The current work week in Israel usually is Sunday through Thursday, although many also work half a day on Friday. Declaring Sunday a non-work day would enable observant Jews to attend activities and go on vacation and buying trips, which are prohibited on the Sabbath. However, it also would mean less education and learning of Jewish studies, a principle of the religious community.
The attempt to make Sunday a vacation or non-work day sounds like its basic rationale is for convenience to do secular matters. If this ever passed, it would impose work burdens on the Muslim day of prayer in which they do not work. It also would help Christians who would like to have Sunday as a day of worship. Thus, it would appear that many Christians’ right of a day of worship is ignored in present laws, or at least makes it difficult for them to obtain jobs when the law requires working Sunday through Thursday. I wonder what the background issues are for Sunday-keepers in Israel?