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Good news for pluralism By Haaretz Editorial Tags: Passover, chametz This year during Hol Hamo'ed, the intermediate days of Pesach, there are signs of a change which, although not dramatic, is of refreshing social and cultural significance. Many people do in fact refrain from eating chametz on Pesach, and the demographic figures testify to the fact that the number of those who observe the laws of kashrut is steadily increasing. However, in many places in Israel one can find chametz products even during Hol Hamo'ed. In many cafes, pastry shops and bakeries, and of course in restaurants that do not observe kashrut, anyone who is interested is served fresh bread, cakes and other baked goods. The trips to pita bakeries in Arab towns are becoming unnecessary, and the subversive atmosphere of sin involved in standing on these lines is disappearing. This situation, which exists even in Jerusalem with its religious/ultra-Orthodox majority, is a natural continuation of another change, that of opening restaurants, cafes, kiosks and food shops, in addition to the theaters and cinemas that operate on Shabbat. Another phenomenon is the opening of many stores where one can purchase nonkosher meat, seafood and other products that will never receive a certificate of kashrut. Advertisement It seems as though the stronger the religious coercion, and the more the religious parties, headed by Shas, increase their demands, the more a consumer culture is developing in Israel that no longer takes these prohibitions and stringencies into account. Many firms and stores even prefer to pay a fine for opening a business on Shabbat or for selling chametz, because their volume of sales compensates them well for the damage. The new situation is welcome because it creates a free and comfortable living space for a broad population that felt itself bound by kashrut restrictions that are contrary to its worldview. Although opening businesses on Shabbat often involves undermining the right of workers to a day of rest, there is no way of stopping the natural process in which each community shapes the lifestyle that suits it. It is therefore no coincidence that on the streets of cities where the population is religious or traditional, bakeries that supply bread do not operate. Such bakeries flourish mainly in places with large concentrations of young secular people, or immigrants from Russia who are used to eating nonkosher food. Within this new atmosphere, the ruling handed down only three weeks ago in the Jerusalem Municipal Affairs Court - which determined that businesses that sold chametz did not violate the law because they did not display chametz publicly - was a good reflection of the spirit of the times, and even a sign of things to come. The change, as we have said, is not great, but it brings a pleasant message for secular people, many of whom believe that they have already lost the battle against religious coercion. It turns out that this very coercion, with the sense of power among the ultra-Orthodox and national-religious politicians that has accompanied it in recent years, has achieved exactly the opposite of what it intended. And while the debate surrounding the minor ruling from Jerusalem continues to rage, reality has come and emptied it of content, along with the Chametz Law itself. The path of separating religion and the state is still long, and in the Israel of 2008 there are still many signs of religiosity that accompany Israelis nearly everywhere. Still, this Pesach marks an important and positive step. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Sex, lies and videotape 3 Kibbutz Ein Gedi residents suspected of filming themselves raping Danish tourists. Big brother is watching An IDF soldier has been jailed for posting sensitive photos on Facebook.   1.   Shame on haaretz - consumerism is evil 10:59  |  Littlemrhappy 23/04/08   2.   "separating religion and the state" 11:14  |  Rowan 23/04/08   3.   Hopefully the same during the upcoming holidays 12:31  |  Binyamin Dissen 23/04/08   4.   Why not honor both judaism and freedom of choice? 13:00  |  Fortuna Benmayor 23/04/08

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