Israeli company fined for violating Shabbat

Tel Aviv court slapped Best Buy with $20,000 fine for employing Jews on Shabbat. Technically, the company transgressed a labor rather than religious law: generally, no Israeli can be employed on the day his religion sets as a holiday, even if he is atheist. Many Israeli companies employ Jews on Shabbat, and thousands of fines are issued annually with dozens of cases decided by courts. The judge strove to dress the religious prohibition in social terms by declaring that the Sabbath law means the families to enjoy the same day of rest together. In religious terms, the law is nonsensical, as the commandment prohibits anyone working on Shabbat “in your town.”