Gedolei Yisroel shlita are calling on the public to
continue supporting neighborhood generator initiatives by
joining the ranks of chareidim who opt for kosher electricity
on Shabbos, citing the need to avoid the use of electricity
produced through chilul Shabbos.
Following various Israel Electric Corporation (IEC)
announcements in recent months promising to supply kosher
electricity around the country, rabbonim and public figures
familiar with the complexity of the matter were asked to look
into the pledges and to find out exactly what they mean in
practical terms.
They found out that at the initiative of the Israel Electric
Corporation's CEO Uri Ben-Nun, a proposal was made to replace
most of the hundreds of employees who work on Shabbos with
non-Jewish workers. However, according to the proposed
arrangement a few Jewish workers would still instruct non-
Jewish workers to carry out certain tasks, which means of
course that no real halachically valid solution has been
reached since some of the Jewish employees would continue to
work on Shabbos.
During a round of visits at the homes of gedolei Yisroel
shlita Ben-Nun, accompanied by chareidi organizers,
presented his proposal in detail. Maranan verabonon
discussed the plan with him at length and encouraged him in
his long-awaited efforts to minimize Shabbos desecration at
the IEC.
Rabbonim involved in the matter note that in the event the
initiative succeeds im yirtzeh Hashem, it would have
no impact on the use of Shabbos generators as long as acts of
chilul Shabbos continue. Based on a close familiarity
with the situation, a comprehensive solution remains far off
on the horizon. As such, gedolei Yisroel are
instructing the public to continue setting up and joining
generators providing kosher electricity in chareidi areas
around the country.
