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Laws prevent the opening of entertainment establishments on the Tisha B'Av fast, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
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| By Ellis Shuman July 17, 2002 |
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The fast of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples, begins tonight. Worshippers will gather in synagogues around the country, and thousands are expected to crowd the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, city inspectors will hand out fines to restaurants and coffee houses that open for business as usual on the solemn holiday.
Throughout Israel, legal ordinances prevent the opening of entertainment establishments and restaurants on Tisha B'Av. Last year, for the first time, the Tel Aviv Municipality announced it would instruct city inspectors not to fine proprietors of restaurants, bars and cafes who chose to open their doors to the public on the holiday. But a newly amended law now defines "places of enjoyment" to include eating places and coffee houses.
Restaurants found operating on Tisha B'Av are liable to a 360 shekel fine ($77). Tel Aviv Municipality spokesman Hillel Partok said eight inspection patrols would circulate in the city from the start of the fast, just before 7 p.m. tonight. Other officials said the enforcement patrols would be small, and would be activated largely to show that the city was not ignoring the Knesset amendment.
In Tel Aviv's Rabin Square, a study session will be held under the title, "Tonight we don't study Torah." The session, part of the Judaism for All project sponsored by Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Melchior, will feature dialogues between people of differing views.
The High Court of Justice this morning rejected a petition of the Temple Mount Faithful to conduct their Tisha B'Av prayer services on the Temple Mount. The justices' decision was based on information suggesting that anyone entering the Temple Mount complex would be endangering his/her life. The site has been off limits to everyone but Muslims since the start of the Intifada in September 2001.
The annual Tisha B'Av "Walk Around the Old City Walls" will begin with the reading of the Book of Eicha (Lamentations) tonight in Jerusalem's Safra Square. The walk, organized by the Women in Green organization, is expected to attract thousands.
According to a public opinion poll conducted by the Dahaf Agency for the Center for Pluralistic Judaism, 30% of Israel's Jewish population fasts on Tisha B'Av, while 72% support the decision to close places of entertainment on the holiday. The poll also revealed that 53% of the population would like to see the establishment of a Third Temple on the Temple Mount, and 42% said that Jews should be allowed to pray on the holy site.
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