Chametz in hospitals or not chametz in hospitals - this is the question:
the struggle that led to the retirement of MK Idit Silman from the coalition began many years ago, but has come to a real boil in the past year. So what's the story?
In 1986, Knesset members enacted the Matzah Law, which stipulated that during Passover, "a business owner shall not publicly display chametz products for sale or consumption."
The reason for enacting the law, according to the initiators, the late MK Avner Chai Shaki and the late Avraham Shapira, was that the phenomenon of selling chametz began on Passover. "Chametz products are displayed in public, which hurts the feelings of the religious, traditional and national public."
About 15 years later the moves began to try and stop the law.
Among other things, MK Ophir Pines submitted a bill seeking to repeal the law because it is a declaratory law that makes no sense and in 2002 a petition was filed against the law, claiming that it violates freedom of occupation. Chametz, and on the other hand, other attempts have been made to repeal the law, including a proposal by the Meretz party, claiming that it has no place in a democratic state.
At the same time, a real drama began around the issue of hospitals, where visitors were banned from introducing chametz on Passover, which provoked outrage among secular bodies.
Hospitals are a sensitive issue, because unlike businesses, patients cannot leave, and those who want to visit them want to put in foods to make their hearts rejoice.
Edith Silman retires, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
In April 2020, the High Court ruled by a majority that hospitals do not have the authority to prohibit the introduction of chametz on Passover, and that security guards are not allowed to look for food in their dishes or contact visitors with any comments or instructions on the subject. To the autonomy of the individual and to freedom of religion.
"There are patients who want to eat the food they are used to eating all year round, and are not interested in maintaining kosher laws for Passover," the judges wrote in their decision.
"Imposing a ban on eating a certain food for religious reasons, on anyone who is not interested in it, violates his freedom of religion, and his autonomy to live his life according to his values and desires."
But the confrontation did not end there.
In preparation for Passover, Hadassah Hospital intended to ask employees not to bring chametz for Passover and to instruct security guards to politely ask patients to not bring non-kosher products into the holiday.
This is a kind of detour, since the hospital did not intend to ban the introduction of non-kosher products, but to request it.
In response, the secular forum appealed to Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz to intervene in the matter, in order to avoid violating the ruling, and indeed Horowitz complied with their request.
In a letter sent to the hospital, he stated that "it is our duty to allow each patient to behave in his own way, without coercion. Those who are interested in keeping the mitzvah of the holiday, and also for the well-being and dignity of those who do not wish to do so. "
This provoked heavy anger among religious Knesset members, including MK Idit Silman, who reacted sharply: "Beyond the fact that this is a personal injury and contempt for coalition members, it is contempt for many percent, almost 70 percent of the public in Israel.
Thanks to the same unity government, "she said at a hearing in the health committee.
"The people of Israel at the end have flags, flags that many generations of people have killed themselves on these flags. We can not take part in such a statement. I expect the minister to respect the public and his coalition members. We in our fingers can not allow such a person to continue to be a minister. I read from here "The minister should issue a directive to the hospitals. There is a crossing of a red line here, in my shift it will not be," Silman added.
In real time, her words were perceived as a mere puff of steam and statements that had no cover behind them, which turned out to be incorrect in retrospect.
"In the end, Edith Silman is a religious woman who educates children on the values of halakhah," says MK Yaakov Asher (Torah Judaism).
With all due respect to Bennett, Silman said, "I am not going to sell my worldview."
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