Culture & Sport Minister Won't Accommodate Observant Jews

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B"H

This is what happens when we "include" our sworn enemies in our government.

Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we start making some demands of the arabs and make them make "gestures" to us? How about this: "When you include a Jew in your cabinet, we will include an arab in ours!"

Why are they always making the demands, and we are "gesturing" until our arms fall off????? When will we stand up for our right to our land that we have paid for millions of times over with the blood of our own people???

M
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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/123227
by Ezra HaLevi and Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Israel’s first Arab cabinet member, Sport and Culture Minister Raleb Majadle (Labor) has rejected a request by Shas Knesset member Chaim Amsalem to accommodate groups of Sabbath-observant and traditional soccer players who wish to participate in league competitions.

Recent media coverage of Sabbath-keeping efforts of traditionally observant members of the Betar Tzfat soccer team, who are forced to either skip or walk to games scheduled for Saturday, led MK Amsalem to suggest that the minister allow teams to refrain from playing on the Sabbath if they request to do so.

Amsalem pointed out that a large number of players and fans are traditional and would prefer if the games were rescheduled for a different day.

Majadle responded that such a move would be impossible since young people attend school the rest of the week and would not be able to arrive on time for the games.

MK Amsalem registered his disappointment in the minister’s decision, saying: “His answer is insufficient and does not display any effort toward finding a real solution to a problem that strikes very close to the soul of Judaism.”

Most Israeli professional soccer games take place on the Sabbath.

In contrast, the new Israel Baseball League (IBL) does not schedule games on the Sabbath, despite the fact that only 40 percent of its players are Jews and only a handful of those are observant.

No IBL games were scheduled during the recent fast of Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av. IBL founder Larry Baras immediately rescheduled a game upon being told it would run into the beginning of Tisha B’Av, making it difficult for one of the religious Jewish players to prepare properly for the fast.

Gentile players on the teams have been equally sensitive on the issue. Ryoju Kihara, a 27-year-old native of Hiroshima, Japan, told Arutz-7, “It’s good not to play on Tisha B’Av because we’re here in Israel. This isn’t Japan, America or Australia.” The Netanya Tigers pitcher added, “We need to respect the Jewish people of Israel.”