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The hametz law was approved today (Wednesday) in a preliminary reading in the Knesset.
This, at the end of a discussion that took place in the plenary session.
The bill was promoted by MK Moshe Gafni of Torah Judaism, and it states that there will be a ban on the introduction of chametz on Passover to hospitals. Last week, the
legal counsel to the government announced that it would oppose the chametz bill, which was previously approved by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation. According to him, the proposal "causes difficulties considerable constitutional rights" and together with the government ministries, "alternative solutions should be examined without excessively infringing on the rights of the patients".
The law was approved in a preliminary reading in the Knesset.
Gafni (Photo: Knesset Spokesperson, Noam Moshkowitz Knesset Spokesperson)
The bill seeks to respond to the High Court's ruling according to which hospitals do not have the authority to prevent the introduction of chametz, to search for food in bags, or to warn visitors about the kosherness of the food. Gafni's bill states that hospitals will be prohibited from introducing or possessing chametz on Passover, unless it is a hospital that is not serves the Jewish sector and does not hold a kosher certificate throughout the year.
The explanation for the bill reads: "For thousands of years, since the children of Israel came out of Egypt, the Jewish people very religiously kept the Passover holiday and its laws.
Even during difficult and dark times in the history of the Jewish people, when the Jews were ordered not to observe mitzvahs - such as the period of the Inquisition and the Holocaust - the Jewish people observed with true dedication not to eat leaven on Passover, and there is no reason that in the Jewish state it would not be possible for the sick to keep kosher on Passover."
The bill has previously provoked sharp criticism from political parties, but the religious and ultra-Orthodox factions explained that without the High Court's decision, there would have been no need for legislation. The bill will be promoted, most likely before Passover, and is part of the coalition agreement signed with Shas, Torah Judaism and the other factions of the coalition.
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The Hametz Law
