More Israelis believe that chometz should not be allowed into public institutions, such as hospitals and military bases, during the seven days of Pesach, a new survey found.
The poll, released by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), comes amid a heated public debate about the role of halacha in Israeli society.
Almost half, or 49 percent, of respondents said visitors should not be allowed to bring chometz into hospitals, compared with 44 percent who said it should be permitted. Likewise, 58 percent of Israelis said chometz should be forbidden from military bases, versus 37 percent who believe it should be allowed.
Public hospitals and military bases across the country already keep their kitchens kosher for Pesach.
Yet the issue came to the fore after Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz reminded hospitals ahead of Pesach to abide by a 2020 High Court decision, which ruled that hospitals cannot ban visitors and patients from entering their premises with chometz during the Yom Tov.
Horowitz’s move was met with harsh discontent by religious Yamina MK Idit Silman, whose unexpected resignation deprived the ruling coalition of its parliamentary majority.
A breakdown of the IDI poll by religious orientation showed that around 90 percent of charedi, national religious, and traditional religious respondents said that it should be forbidden to take chometz into either hospitals or IDF bases. In contrast, among secular respondents, 74 percent said it should be permitted to take chometz into hospitals and 66 percent said it should be allowed on IDF bases.
The survey was conducted by the internet and telephone between March 29 and April 1 among a representative sample of 605 men and women interviewed in Hebrew and 156 in Arabic.
(c) The Algemeiner Journal
Most Israelis are traditional, in their religious outlook and observance. They may not keep Shabbos, but they know what it means, and respect it. On Pesach especially, majority of Israelis avoid outright chametz. It’s only for a week, and they have memories of their parents’ and grandparents’ homes.
Allowing chametz into the hospitals, to pander to select few, is exactly the same as letting men into women’s bathrooms, so that few mentally ill but very loud individuals could stop protesting and yelling.
Guess what, hospitals have many rules, which patients and visitors abide by – hours, proper decorum, infection-control dress codes, and many many other regulations. Somehow, almost everyone is able to abide, and nobody is screaming all the way to the supreme court.
Suddenly, the Deform movement has an issue with rolls and bagels. Nobody is forcing others to keep kosher l’Pesach in their private lives. Public institutions and areas are different. One cannot consume alcohol in the street, smoke in parks, or engage in other activities that are fully allowed in one’s home.
Let them eat cake, in private.
I have a simple solution for the people who want to have chometz in EY on Pesach. Call your part of the country Uganda and then it’ll be fine. You guys don’t want to have a Jewish land. You have no connection. Get out! Leave it for the adults.
Even secular Israelis know that eating bread on Pesach is chayev koras.