Fischer Getting Flak Over Shabbos Speech

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stanley-fischerBank of Israel Chief Stanley Fischer has recently received a series of important honors abroad, culminating with his being named the best central bank governor in the world for 2010 by an importanpublication. However, he appears to have slipped up Saturday when he gave a speech at the International Monetary Fund convention in Washington, DC, despite it being Shabbos Kodesh – and he is getting flak over it in Israel.

David Vazana, head of the Union of Bank of Israel Employees, said the Sabbath speech was a “very grave” matter. He explained: “It is too bad that such a thing was done in front of the nations of the world, who know and revere the Torah of Israel, of Moshe, and all of whom respect Judaism – while this makes it appear that we the Jews, ourselves, do not respect the Torah.”

Vazana said that he has great respect for the fact that Fischer left a very successful career abroad and came to Israel, in what he termed “a great act of sanctifying G-d’s name.” But the speech on Shabbos is the opposite of that, he said. It is, rather, a desecration of G-d’s Name.

“I expect that he [will] issue an immediate apology as previous governors did when they made mistakes like issuing a statement [on the Shabbos],” Vazana told Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew language news. “I have been working in the Bank of Israel for 23 years but I have never seen such a public desecration of G-d’s Name,” he stressed.

The chairman of the Knesset’s Finance Committee, MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) canceled a meeting with Fischer that was scheduled for Sunday to protest the Shabbos speech.

Read more at Arutz Shevah.

{Arutz Shevah/Matzav.com}


3 COMMENTS

  1. non comprende. If Israel is a jewish state, so much so, that you don’t want speeches given outside of the country on Shabbos, then why doesn’t the chareidi community recognize it as such. If they are goyim and not recognized and you aren’t allowed to vote for the knesset etc, then why can’t they give speeches on Shabbos.

  2. That is the problem with charedim they want it both ways. I did not see in one of our publications any mention of the kiddusah hashem made when the Israeli delegation skipped the UN session on sukkos. Yet we are quick to criticse when they violate shabbos.

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