Israel Electric Corp to observe Shabbat
Photo: Eli Mandelbaum
IEC to offer 'kosher electricity' by 2014
Electric Corp to invest some NIS 500,000 in bid to solve problem preventing thousands of haredi families in Bnei Brak from connecting to power supply for fear of desecrating Shabbat
The "kashrut" concept is usually reserved for food, but in some ultra-Orthodox communities it has to do with other vital issues like connection to a power supply.
They are confronted by other haredi residents who see no halachic problem in connecting to the national electricity network, and are forced to deal with the pollution and noise created by the generators. These residents have been trying for a long time to put an end to the operation of generators in the heart of the populated area, accusing the operators of the generators of trying to make a profit with rabbis' support.
The haredi population in the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak has been torn for years over the kashrut of electricity production. Entire communities are forced to pay NIS 120 (about $33) every weekend in order to connect to a generator, as they believe that the Israel Electric Corp's power generation desecrates Shabbat.
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This battle has been taking place in courts for years, with no apparent solution in the horizon.
So where will the electrifying solution come from? That's right – the IEC is investing a lot of money and resources in making electricity kosher. About NIS 500,000 ($137,000) to be exact.
The plan is quite simple: Applying automation procedures in the power stations on Shabbat and leaving non-Jewish workers to observe the automatic production. And of course this will all be subject to the religious supervision of the Scientific-Technological Halacha Institute.
Will the drop in the number of workers on Shabbat spill into weekdays too? Perhaps, but the IEC prefers to focus on the message that because it is a state-owned company, rather than a private or privatized one, it incorporates social considerations into its decisions such as mending rifts in society, or in other words – settling disputes in Bnei Brak.
