Court Battle Over Saturday Opening of Big Glilot Raises Major Financial Stakes

The Tel Aviv District Court is set to hear this week a petition by the Hapoel Hamizrachi labor group and a local business owner demanding that Ramat HaSharon enforce its longstanding municipal bylaw against businesses operating on the Sabbath at Big Fashion Glilot. The city has recently tried to amend the bylaw to permit Saturday trading at the complex, but the Interior Ministry is blocking approval.

For the first time, Big has acknowledged that the case could have far-reaching consequences. In a court filing seeking to change the hearing date, the company said the proceeding and its outcome could have “direct and substantial” effects on its rights and affairs, including “economic consequences in sums of money.” The request was denied. Until now, Big had not presented that kind of risk to investors, and in its latest 2025 annual report it said pending claims were not expected to materially affect results and existing provisions were sufficient.

According to people around the company, the financial impact described in court relates mainly to damage that could be suffered by the stores and businesses in Glilot that are open on Saturdays, rather than to Big itself. The company had previously warned that if the petition is accepted, its losses would include tens of millions of shekels spent over years planning the project, while tenants could face multimillion-shekel damage. Big also suspects some rivals may be behind the petition. The Hapoel Hamizrachi group rejected that accusation, saying it acts independently for the religious and traditional public and has no business motive.

Big Fashion Glilot opened in 2025 and now has about 150 businesses, including restaurants and chains such as Opticana, Delta, Castro, Hoodies, Carolina Lemke and Sunny. About 70% are estimated to open on Saturdays, and roughly 30 tenants told the court they relied on the city’s status quo and the understanding that the site would operate on the Sabbath, investing heavily, signing long leases and buying stock and equipment. The company said first-quarter 2026 revenue reached about 625 million shekels, while 2025 profit was 1.76 billion shekels on revenue of 2.9 billion shekels. Ministry of Interior chief Israel Ozen sent a sharp letter to the city questioning the need for Sabbath operation, while the municipality says it is enforcing a gradual priority system and that the amended bylaw was approved by an overwhelming majority.