Sabbath openings

With regard to “High Court rules TA shops can remain open on Shabbat” (October 27), there is something very disturbing for me on at least two counts:

1. The ruling came under the aegis of a woman Supreme Court president. In traditional Judaism, while the man may be the halachic authority, the woman of the house sets the religious tone. She is the one who navigates the waters of Jewish ethics and religious identity for the children. Shabbat has little meaning except if she shows her family its serenity and beauty.

2. The ruling sets the Supreme Court above the dictates of democracy, for in a democratic society, the cry of the minority must be heard first and foremost by the judiciary system. With this ruling, there is little to prevent stores across Israel from opening on Shabbat and destroying the livelihood of the significant minority who will be hardpressed to compete. Worse still, by the court’s act, another marker of what sets Israel apart from the United States and much of the rest of the world has been demolished.

Sadly, I can see a day when the question “Who is a Jew in Israel” will be moot. YAACOV PETERSEIL Jerusalem

The High Court of Justice made a decision allowing the profaning of the holiness of the Sabbath in Tel Aviv.

I wish to remind our prime minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, that before he demands recognition by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel is a Jewish state, he should remind the High Court. SHMUEL SHIMSHONI

Hadera

A few years ago, when I went with my family on a root-finding trip to Cyprus, we arrived on a Sunday. We wanted to buy fuel and milk but found all petrol stations, supermarkets and shops closed in two cities. On asking the locals, they told us that on Sundays, everything is shut.

I think what is good for Cyprus is also good for Israel. JOE GELLERT

Netanya May I remind those who object to Tel Aviv supermarkets opening on Shabbat that Israel is the home of the Jewish people, not just the Orthodox? HYAM CORNEY Netanya