Court Drops Petition, Keeping Big Glilot Open on Shabbat for Now

The Tel Aviv District Court on Monday afternoon ordered the removal of a petition filed by the Histadrut HaPoel HaMizrachi and a Ramat HaSharon business owner, who had sought to force the city to enforce its municipal bylaw against stores operating on Shabbat at Big Glilot. The ruling means the shopping center will remain open on Saturdays, as it has until now.

Judge Gilad Hess said the petition had achieved its purpose because the municipality and the mayor had made clear that the law should be enforced and had already drafted an enforcement policy. He said, “In these circumstances it is clear that the petition, in its substantive component, has exhausted itself and there is no dispute that the law must be enforced.” The court stressed that it could not yet determine whether the enforcement would actually be effective, because the policy had only been prepared three months ago.

The decision followed statements in court by the Ramat HaSharon council and the mayor, saying the municipality had prepared a new policy document for businesses operating on Shabbat. The city also promised to keep the existing municipal bylaw in force and work to enforce it. The court said that, given those commitments, the petition had become moot and should be dismissed.

The municipal policy divides the city into zones and sets different rules for areas near residents, such as the city center, and more distant areas. However, the city has not yet completed an enforcement tool or final policy for each zone. The petitioners said the existing law, enacted in 1968, bans businesses from opening on Shabbat and must be enforced. Last week, Interior Ministry Director-General Israel Ozan sent a sharp letter to Ramat HaSharon saying the current bylaw remains fully valid and must be enforced at Big Fashion Glilot until any amendment is officially approved by the interior minister. Lawyers Shahar Konforti and Oshar Sapir, representing businesses at the complex, said the dismissal preserves the long-standing status quo while upholding the law and Ramat HaSharon’s pluralistic, liberal character.