Israeli Meretz party leaders attacked on Sunday acting Labor and Social Affairs Minister Ra'anan Cohen over what they termed his "illegal threats" to bar stores in the new Herzliya shopping mall from opening on Sabbath, Ha'aretz newspaper reported Monday.
Meretz Chairman Yossi Sarid and senior party MK Amnon Rubinstein declared their support for Herzliya Mayor Yael German, also of Meretz, who intends to allow mall stores to open on Shabbat when the new Seven Stars shopping center is dedicated on September 18th, the paper added.
"We denounce Ra'anan Cohen's threats to order the mall closed if it is opened on the Sabbath," they were quoted by the daily as saying that the "illegal threats" contradicted Barak's statements regarding "the secular revolution," they added.
Meretz is a secular party that supports the separation of religion and state. They consider that “personal religious behavior is an inherent component of personal liberty and a matter for the autonomous decision of the individual, as long as s/he does not infringe the same rights of other individuals,” according to Meretz website - Albawaba.com
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