A planned Shabbos protest in Bnei Brak was canceled Friday after senior police officials intervened and committed to ensuring that a business whose operation on Shabbos had sparked an uproar would be closed.
Rav Chaim Yitzchok Isaac Landau, the rov of Bnei Brak, announced that the demonstration scheduled for this Shabbos would no longer take place following the police commitment concerning the business on Lechi Street.
According to an announcement issued Friday, senior Israel Police officials became involved after word spread about the planned protest and pledged to take steps to ensure that the establishment would remain closed on Shabbos. Rav Landau nevertheless urged residents to remain vigilant and make certain that the commitment is honored in the coming weeks as well.
The cancellation came one day after Bnei Brak’s rabbonim called on residents to participate in a mass demonstration during Shabbos against the business’s continued operation. The rabbonim described the development as a “serious breach in the walls of the city, the likes of which has not occurred in decades.”
Organizers said Thursday that efforts had previously been made to resolve the matter through all available legal channels and with the relevant authorities, but those attempts had failed to bring about the business’s closure.
As a result, plans were made for residents to gather near the establishment shortly before the conclusion of Shabbos. Members of the community were asked to attend earlier minyanim for Mincha and then proceed to the demonstration at approximately 7 p.m.
An audio message circulated among Bnei Brak residents described the planned protest and the concerns that had prompted the call to demonstrate.
“Important announcement in light of the call of the city’s rabbis,” the recording stated. “Since recently there has been a serious breach in the walls of Shabbos observance in our city of Bnei Brak, the likes of which has not occurred in decades, with the opening of a business in the city, and after attempts were made to act through every legal avenue and all relevant possibilities, to no avail, and the business continues in its defiance, there is great concern that additional businesses throughout the area will open.”
The recording continued: “Therefore, with Hashem’s help, the city’s residents who are chareidim lidvar Hashem will go out this holy Shabbos, Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech, toward sunset, shortly before the conclusion of Shabbos, to the aforementioned location, to protest in the way of the Torah for the honor of the holy Shabbos, which is being trampled openly in the streets. We ask members of our community who are able, particularly the younger avreichim, to come and participate.”
At the same time, representatives of the Israel Police met with Bnei Brak municipal officials in an effort to address and clarify arrangements involving road closures in the area of the Sofrim complex.
The meeting followed tensions that had developed in the area, with both sides seeking an agreed-upon arrangement. According to information released afterward, the solution is expected to follow the existing procedures governing the closure of the Lechi Bridge on Shabbos.
Israel Police said it would work to maintain public order while allowing any arrangements that are established to be implemented in accordance with the law and existing procedures.
Police officials also stressed during the meeting that acts of violence, threats, property damage or any other criminal conduct would be dealt with firmly.
With the police commitment now in place, the protest was called off. Residents, however, were asked to continue monitoring the situation to ensure that the business remains closed on future Shabbosos as promised.
