The Knesset Finance Committee has approved a Governmental
request to allocate NIS 25 million in preparation for the
planned visit of the pope to Israel in March. The arrival of
the pope will cause massive Shabbos desecration, since
massive police forces will be required to safeguard his
visit, slated to begin on Shabbos kodesh.
NIS 13 million will be spent on infrastructure for the visit:
construction of landing sites, parking lots and road
development. Maintenance and sanitation projects,
broadcasting centers, and ceremonies are also included in
this part of the plans. Another NIS 12 will be spend on other
aspects of the visit.
At the meeting of the Finance Committee, Knesset members
Rabbi Moshe Gafni and Rabbi Meir Porush opposed the
Government's request for this special budget, while MKs Meir
Shetreet and Yisrael Katz (Likud) abstained.
The chareidi MKs protested this in the Knesset plenum on
Tuesday 2 Adar 1. Rabbi Moshe Gafni said: "The Jordanian
government has decided on a five day work week, and that the
additional rest day should be Saturday. Extreme groups in
Jordan, however, said that it is forbidden to make Saturday
their rest day since it is the rest day of what they call
`the Zionist enemy.'
"Our Government and its head do not understand what the
extremists in Jordan do understand. The pope is coming for a
visit and he must be honored. But we cannot bend our heads
and cause massive Shabbos desecration as a result. The Prime
Minister must not meet with him before Shabbos because of all
the Shabbos desecration such a widely publicized meeting
would involve."
Rabbi Shmuel Halpert told the Prime Minster to ask the pope
to either come earlier or postpone his visit by a number of
days in order to prevent massive Shabbos desecration which
will offend millions of Jews in Israel and the world over.
