The Times of Israel reports: The High Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled in favor of Tel Aviv’s battle to expand facilities open to the secular public on Shabbat, saying that the municipality can permit mini-markets to operate on the Jewish day of rest.
The ruling was hailed as a victory by the city and liberal politicians, who said it was an important step against religious coercion. However, ultra-Orthodox officials railed against the ruling and vowed to fight it and bypass the court. “As I said already four years ago, the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa was free and will remain free,” Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, said according to the Ynet news site.
But Interior Minister Aryeh Deri slammed the ruling as a change to the religious status quo in Israel and “a serious blow to the holy Shabbat and the character of the Jewish people,” the Haaretz newspaper reported.
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