If Lapid can break the accepted 'status quo' then, as demography and Stanley Fischer point out,. when the charadim and religious become the majority, we can force the seculars to 'observe' the Shabbat. Thank you Yair Lapid for giving us charadim this opening.

What do no busses on Shabbat have to do with charedim. Believe it or not the country is not divided into charedim who are religious and control the country and the secular. Lapid would have us believe that anything to do with religion in this country is the doing of the charedi because they make good scapegoats. As long as the charedi are responsible for anything to do with religion in this country then everybody will rally around him because everybody loves to hate them. Lapid has this obsession with anti religion policies simply because he has nothing else to actually offer. He knows the seculars love seeing him fighting against the religious or trying to destroy any issues that has anything to do with religion at a national level and these populist issues are the only ones he takes an interest in. He has gone out of his way to avoid getting involved in real politics as best he can because real politics makes you enemies anti religion ones makes the secular public love you.

That's the camel's nose in the tent,guysLapid makes it palatble by citing poor grandfathers and working people who want to go go the beach. In the voluntary Sahbbat worldthey won't be going to the beach either. They'll be working to keep their jobs because you work on Shabbat or else.. Then comes the push to get places of entertainment, etc to open Shabbat. And somebody has to work in those--and drive the buses. Pretty soon it becomes difficult in the Jewish State for Jews who keep Shabbat to get hired (its already had. Even supposedly relligious employers --Naftali Bennet admitted it outright when he ran his hi-tech company--don't want to hire Chariedim even if you go out and get the education. If you make it possible to push for people to have to work on Shabbat, it will be even more so. And not just the "them", Chareidim but lots and lots of Jews who are not just religious or traditional (and combined its not a measly 15% like talkbackers cite and within a15 years will be the clear majority)but seculars who aren't aware of the built-in benefit of Shabbat as a given who will be pushed to work 7 days a week or go jobless.We're back to the days of the Romans in which a well-known comic made fun of Jews resting on Shabbat making the same arguments about it destroying the economy. There are other, better solutions. Think outside the box.

Your post has reminded me how it used to be in England. Once Saturday & Sunday everywhere closed then they started pushing for Saturday trading, started out a handful of businesses opened on Saturday. Today its pretty much expected that you agree to work on Saturday as a condition of employment so its treated like any other day of the week. Then came Sunday some people wanted Sunday opening again started off just a handful but now just about all the big companies open on Sunday. What started off as convenience has turned into a 7 day working week. The unofficial 7 day working week has of course led more people to go spend money but nobody gets any pleasure from life.

.When his time is up, a non-Jewish Cemetery should eagerly accomodate him with a non-Jewish Minister officiating to boot. .He has no concept of Shabbas this being a major Principal of Judaism.(Re: the 10 Commandments) Any Tshuba on Rosh Hashanah / Yom Kippur will not be accepted if he will not change his ways in earnest. .For his own sake he should consult a stream of Rabbis,or Yeshivah Students to clear up this important point especially ...if his intended last stop is to get to heaven Then he will be in good company of the Tzaddikim...I hope they will accept him as a friend.

What's the problem? Although there is less travel on Shabbat - even so, there are buses going to major routes. They start after 10:00 AM.

of church and state? You orthodox guys really make me sick sometimes.

Lapid can work on Shabbat and work himself to death ,the rest of us want A DAY OFF.

Agreed that we live in a different world and transport should be available (and ask the pathetic current minister why most buses stop as early as 9 p.m.). What is not agreed is that abolishing tax breaks for the richest equals socialism. Anyone is welcome to make lots of money - just not at the expense of the rest of the country. Why does a person getting 2,000 handicap pension have to have health and national insurance fees deducted from that pittance, yet the CEO earning 1/2 million pays next to nothing? If Lapid's (and I voted him) war cry is "equal share of the burden" than make that first stop the sleazy ultra wealthy getting away with zero contribution to anything but their own bank accounts.

Hate spending Friday evening and saturday when I come to Israel - lifting public transport ban on friday evening and saturday and be more flexible on shops opening will boost the economy and make life for visitors more enjoyable over the weekend - Time to move on if Israel need the Tourist Dollars

How is it not obvious that public transport should run every day? I thought I lived in Israel.. Not Iran. People who don't want to break shabbat wouldn't be forced to, but for the majority of the country, busses should be an option.

Let G*d decide who he chooses to befriend or not. You knowing the Torah does not allow you to dictate the course of someone else's life and death. This may come as a shock to you but not every Jew is religious. I was born a Jew and whether I drive on Shabbat or take the bus or eat a nice juicy pork chop is not any of your business, nor does it make me any less Jewish than you.

exactly as Shabbat cocking, shabbat services in hospitals and 24/7 work at plants as Intel, Hevrat hashmal... All screams about "destroying Jewish character of the state" are coming from retarded self-appointed upper class-jews exactly as Saudi arabs in muslim world.

If you guys have no problem with private transportation and not throwing stones to the passing cars on Shabbat (not sure though...), you should have no problem with public transportation too. Anyway it's partally exist in TA, Haifa, Ben Gurion etc. So, what's you point then?

Yes and of course Lapid the delusional self anointed genius whose entire claim to fame has been that of a TV pretty boy should be able to visit his psychoanalyst as well. What absolute rubbish coming a supposed government minister.

Up until 20 years ago or so there was very limited Sunday shopping out of respect for the Christian Sunday. Well after Quebec went through the quite revolution and divested itself of all things Catholic, they did away with the Sunday shopping laws as well as the Beer and Spirits availability laws. 20 years later, no one I mean no one feels that Sunday is a day off. Its just another mindless day with nothing to show for it. Families are not together. There is no sense of peace and quiet. Its as if people are on the go 24/7. In short people are more stressed than ever before. The only ones who gain from the open shopping days are governments thru their continuous taxation. Remember what seems to be right will seem to be very wrong after awhile. Keep the day off and stop the stupidity. Israel was founded to be a Jewish country. I may not wear a beard like my kids or even eat the ultra kosher food they insist upon, but certain things you simply don't need to do away with. A public day of rest is very important for any society.

I hope the majority votes against his cruelty...