Minister Yishai
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Yishai bans Jews from working at airport on Shabbat
Industry, trade and labor minister decides not to allow Jewish laborers to work on renovation of Ben Gurion runways during weekends
Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai said he would authorize a project to renovate runways at the Ben Gurion Airport on the condition that works on the weekend would be conducted by non-Jewish laborers.
Yishai decided that Jews would only be allowed to hold managerial positions in the project.
The Israel Aviation Authority began renovating the runways in July, and is planning to have the works completed by the end of November.
During this time, the airport would have to shut down on six consecutive weekends, to allow construction to be carried out on the runways.
Yishai's decision is in line with the Hours of Work and Rest Law, which prohibits working on Saturday.
The minister's aides also stated that his decision was backed by a halachic ruling of Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, and approved by Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.
