Tel Aviv court to hear bid to enforce Sabbath closures at Big Glilot

A new fight over Sabbath commerce at Big Fashion Glilot is reaching the Tel Aviv District Court on Monday, where a petition by the Hapoel HaMizrachi Labor Federation will ask that Ramat HaSharon be ordered to enforce its municipal bylaw against businesses operating on Saturday. The mall is one of Israel’s busiest retail complexes, drawing about 45,000 visitors every Sabbath, and merchants fear active enforcement could bring fines, serious financial harm and disruption to the site’s day-to-day operations.

The petitioners argue that the existing law bans opening businesses on Shabbat and that the city is legally required to apply it. Ramat HaSharon officials respond that the bylaw is outdated and no longer matches current reality, and say repeated attempts to update it have failed over the years.

Mayor Yitzhak Rokberger sharply criticized the demand. He said, “Their argument is that we are obligated to operate according to a bylaw established in 1968. In the past 10 years we submitted an amendment to the bylaw three times and they did not approve it.” He added that the city had also drafted an enforcement policy, but it too has not been approved. Rokberger said he would not shut the complex even if the Interior Ministry pressures him. “The Interior Ministry director general cannot order me to close. If he orders me to close Big, I will not close,” he said. “My worldview is freedom of religion without religious coercion. We live in harmony in Ramat HaSharon.”

He also accused unnamed actors of trying to score political points. “Someone is trying to harvest votes at the public’s expense in Ramat HaSharon. If they want to open a war now over Shabbat, that is sheer hypocrisy,” he said. The ruling could extend far beyond Ramat HaSharon, since it centers on whether local authorities must enforce old Sabbath-related bylaws even when many businesses across Israel are open on Saturdays.