then G-d will forcibly remove you from his land with great violence and bloodshed. Read Jewish history of life in the Holy land of Israel to get a perspective. The modern state has not shown that it respects Jewish values and concerns. They have made it official policy that Jewsih values and Jewish ideals of being and settling the land are verbotten. As a result Israel is spining into the abyss with a breakdown of its society coupled with the increasing alienation of its most dedicated population, namely the dati leumi and other traditional people. Israel is in very danger of being destroyed...all because you do not respect the needs and the wishes of the majority of Jews in Israel. It is plain for all to see...Intel shmintel...Jerusalem will be the capital of the Jewish people long after Intel goes the way of RCA, and so Jerusalem and its holiness must be protected at all costs.

serve and you don't work, than don't lecture those who do.

Natuarally the word work is a foreign concept to these people. Have they ever heard of freedom and democracy? As always they are forcing their lifestyle on others, who do not share their beliefs.

To the Rabbi: I don't understand how working on Shabbat alienates us from nature and means that we are not taking care of the planet. As well, if the purpose of your article was to convince us that Shabbat is essential in distancing ourselves from work once a week, why can't Shabbat workers just take another day off during the week? They'd still be taking a day to distance themselves from work and to reconnect with nature. It would just be a different day than you choose.

GREED is part of all our society. The grabbing of cloned high rise in tel aviv, the painted hi rise token wives etc, Its all GREED, and it's ugly and its ALL OF US and who we worship and the dumbell empty heads we turn into status symbols. The greedy bosses of the intel clones, and the stupid vacuous ninnies who try to ape them. That = us.

I'm afraid that whether you like it or not, the majority of Israelis are not religious. And trying to ram religion down their throats from your home in Canada is not going to make them anymore receptive to it.

This is for #2, and 3. Where the heck did that come from?! Why would you even make such a comment (#2) and why would you (#3) agree and add more crap to the mix? Who said anything about not working or not serving? Completely on the contrary - he mentioned Dati Leumi - which make up some of the most dedicated and most nationalistic units, both in the army and in the workforce in Israel today! So why would you bring something like that up, and then continue to verbally abuse him (them). You speak of Democracy and Freedom - but does that not include the Freedom of Speech - which is one of the founding principles of our Western Democracy! You talk of "forcing their lifestyles on others", but what are you doing to him (or them) right now? The real question is - Why are there so many people in this small country that feel the need to bring their own personal HATREDS into everything and to spread the 'joy'? Why can't we, as Jews (1st and foremost), as Israeli's (as a nation), and if all else fails, why can't we as Human Beings, choose to accept and respect other's beliefs and opinions and (at least) TRY to live in harmony? Why do we have to continually spew our insensitivities to others.... and then blame them for exactly what we our doing?!? And this question goes out to all.... of the spectrum, not just to #'s 2 &3 and other like minded individuals. I would be very happy to hear responses to these questions - specifically from Amir and Avi, but also from anyone else. Jakko

What do I want ,simple ,a modern democracy ,separation of religion from the state,where all the physically fit young men and women do national service. Where everybody works for a living and those that are truly incapable are well cared for.Good health care for all,free education and equal opportunities for all.etc etc and if possible to live in peace with the neighbouring countries.etc etc.In short to be a mordern and dynamic country.

than stop any money transfering from the gov to theme or something than you see them whine "we need money" good idea don't you think. DO IT, I DARE YA.

and the holidays to survive. There is no one in the government who cares about the minimum wage earner! They do not care that the owners and management steals part of the salaries and does not pay according to the law. There is no knesset or histadrut for us. Let us work and try to earn a living. We need to pay taxes to support the hara-dim.

Because those who protested Intel were Haredim, the ones who don't work and don't serve. It wasn't a peaceful protest either, they threw things, and actually broke into a synagogue located on Intel's premises and desecrated it, I don't know how they justified that. So, my comment was specifically about the Intel incident and the Haredim who always try to lecture us even though they feed off the system.

I can protest and you will give in to my claim just wondering cause probably you will force chritian to work on sunday.

I assume that Intel keeps it production line running because to stop it once a week for only one day is not possible. Given that the chip manufacturing process requires the production line machinery to be in a optimal state, no dirt and at the right temperature, it simply isn't possible to shut down the line on Shabbat. Using non-Jews to keep the line running is a reasonable compromise that shouldn't violate anyone's sense of ethics. It keeps the plant in Israel and there is no halachic prohibition for non-Jews to work on Shabbat.

i worked at Intel for many years and i know that they never worked production on the Shabbat, they had a small crew in for maintenance, yet with all of this, they were very profitable. What is going on now is simple bull shit.

I'm with you 100%. I think that it was a shame when everything began to be open on Sundays in Mass. The biggest losers from this were the lowest level workers. No lawyers, doctors etc... worked on Sunday, it was the service and production workers who lost a day of being with their families. There are many non-observant people in Israel who also suggest keeping things closed on Shabbat

through it. And yes there will be a security guard on duty, but there is no reason to run a line 7 days a week other than to piss in the fact of G-d. If Intel insists on 7 day a week production, HaShem should make AMD the leading producer of chips.

1st of all - Amir, I didnt realize you were talking about that specific protest or those specific Chareidim. Apologies. Though, that doesn't change base of the question. 2nd - to # 12 - What? I'm sorry, but I really don't understand at all what you are trying to say. Please try to rephrase it to make it more accessible to everyone.

what a load of old cow droppings. Once again the religious are forcing their life style on Others. Intel is a private domain and not a public place. If their employees want to work in the privacey of their offices thats their bussiness and no body elses. If its not enough the charideem dont work now they deny others who want to work. It may come as a surprise to the charideem but not every body lives accoring to the religious life style, Will they be protesting out side the Electiric company, they are working on Shabbat.. As a CEO of a company my employees know only to well that if we need to work on Shabbat to meet a deadline then we will. Obviously we try to avoid this situation but in todays current market you do what ever you have to, Loosing a contract can result in people loosing their jobs. What kind of a message is this sending out to future investors who may want to invest in Jerusalem ?

Once again we have Bunny girl forcing religion on people in Jerusalem when she her self lives in LA. What right do you have to tell others how to live their lives in a country on the other side of the world. You are not Israeli and you are not a tax payer , so mind your own bunny girl and concentrate on the shopping in Rodeo Drive as obviously thats more important to you than living in Jerusalem.

Let them work 365 days a year without a break and without spending wasted days with their families.Let them be exploited and work like dogs 365 days a year by greedy bosses who could give a shit about them .This,after all is what Capitalism is about.Let them work until they drop.

Strangely, money is the answer. They want to eat, they want a decent place to live, they require clothing. All these basic things require money, money, money. To obtain the shekels needed to obtain those basics, most people do work as much and as long as needed to satisfy their needs. Yet the herediim ask G-d to supply them with their needs. It seems that the Israeli government is acting like G-d using the taxes paid by those who work while the herediim prefer to sit and study. There is NOTHING IN THE TORAH which indicates that anyone has the right to expect anyone else to take care of their needs while they "study". Only in Israel can those who are "ultrareligious" demand others to pay their way; and demand that those who do pay their way change their lifestyle to match theirs. The word is CHUTZPAH!!!

The issue is really who decides, not only for our society, but for individuals. In a democracy, the majority rules.Those decisions can be challenged, in a democratic manner. Violence and illegal protests are not democratic.Most importantly, individuals cannot tell other individuals how to work, when to work, or how to live. However, that is what is being demanded by a minority -- and has been demanded. And, while the majority of Israel's residents are Jewish, not all of them believe in the religion. A sizable minority are not Jews. The issue, as I say, is not whether or how we as a society observes the Sabbath, but who decides. And no amount of justifying the object, despite numerous lofty quotes, can justify the overturning of democratic processes.

This analysis is overly simplistic and lacks understanding of the realities of the situation regarding Intel. Yes, in an ideal world all Jews could benefit from keeping Shabbat. However, the circumstances of the Intel situation are more complex than that. First of all, Intel does not make those who want to keep Shabbat twork on Shabbat - only those who do not keep Shabbat sometimes work on Shabbat, and only when there is a critical business need. Intel respects Jewish practice for those who observe, as indicated by the company having made special accommodations for Haredi women to be able to work there. In the actual realities of Israel and Intel's business, there is a need for secular people to work sometimes on Shabbat. Forcing Intel to close on Shabbat would have negative results, not only for the company (which contributes very significantly to Israel's overall economy) but also would help drive secular people even further from ever considering what you wrote about the beauty and value of Shabbat. This is not an issue of 'greed', rather of which trade-offs realistically will have worse or better consequences.

but to obey god rule .. in kuran two days are mentioned saturday or shabat and friday .. shabat for the jews to stop working but they do not obey and they are sheating for the money or more benifits as the story of fishmen .... then god mention friday for moslemes it was 1500 years later to stop working at noon to pray .. so god made it easier and so people do not obey his rule .. .i think it is not about money or even work it is about regulation and law and it is about to be under god law ...

If the Shabbat rest is so important, designate another day for outdoor activities and family shopping; a day on which the shops are open and the pools and theme parks too. If people in Israel had a shared weekend, Friday and Saturday off, or Saturday and Sunday, like the rest of the western world, the day before or after the Shabbat would be the fun shopping day, or the theme park day etc. and the Shabbat could stay a holy day. As it is, people in Israel have only got the Shabbat to take the family out. And it is very wholesome for the family as a whole to have some activities together beside the daily in-the-house routine. In Europe, the people who work in the shops etc. on that non-Shabbat, have another day off in the middle of the week and they don't work every weekend. So everyone is happy.

I admitted that I was guessing, but I should have known that you ALREADY knew all the facts without having read or been told a thing. I think that if we are speaking about chilul HaShem that perhaps reflecting on the prohibition of lying would be constructive. The woman in charge of Intel's operation seems and sounds like a reasonable person. Not someone who would intentionally try to anger either man or heaven. I note that HaRav Eliashiv is reported as accepting the compromise.

I'm stunned, actually, that you are effectively backing the haredi violence, providing a rationale for the violent behavior. You're invoking Heschel and a distorted Marxism for this ends as well? Unbelievable. First of all, Heschel would have been the last person to view a violently coerced state-wide shabbat as an expression of Judaism. Second of all, nomatter what an ideal shabbat may or may not be, the state should allow for a pluralistic set of experiences. As long as Intel is looking after worker rights and paying them well and not forcing anyone to work on shabbat, it's their right to be open. The fact is, the haredim are more of a disturbance to the public peace than Intel.

whether massachusetts is, or was, a civilized place, is beside the point. the good folks of massachusetts did not keep the shabbat of the torah, and i'd be willing to bet that it wasn't easy for a jewish employee to not work on saturdays. your rational and humanistic argument for a day of rest, "in order to smell the flowers", applies equally to shabbat, or to wednesday, or to the month of august. as a rabbi, you should understand that the torah's commandments are not subject to our approval (or veto), and your argument implies that we should keep the shabbat, not because god commands it, but because it's nice and we like it. what about mitzvoth that we don't like, or that interfere with our "lifestyle"? as a rabbi, can you not state, simply and clearly, that god commands us to keep the shabbat, for us, and for our families, and our servants, and even the stranger who lives in our midst? that is the "primary message" and the fact that we can see good coming from it should only be an additional incentive to do so. and since god gave us free will, to follow his ways or not, may the hareidim one day be allowed to see the wisdom of that as well.

Religious people need a weekly day off to go demonstrate against secular people.