Originally Posted by N9MD

Right on, ij! El Al is owned by the State of Israel, not by the Hassidic Rabbinical Council. The Ultra-Orthodox Jewish faction in Israel has only a very small minority presence in the Knesset (governing body of Israel). Elevators continue to run in Israeli office buildings each and every Friday evening and Saturday daytime on Shabat (Sabbath in Hebrew) --- and the Orthodox choose to take the stairs. If a vote were taken in Israel to ground El Al flights on the sabbath, the Resolution would fail by an overwhelming majority of secular and non-Orthodox Jews.

This is not Jewish vs non-Jewish debate. (I'm Jewish.) It is the age old debate inside and outside of Israel concerning the right of individual Jewish people to select their own level of comfort within the Jewish religion: Secular, Non-Aligned, Reconstructionists, Reformed, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Ultra-Orthodox. And historically, only the relatively small but vocal Ultra-Orthodox sect has made a fuss within and outside of Israel --- vis a vis closing stores, stopping bus service, etc. --- even though the majority of people using these facilities are not Ultra-Orthodox.

Be aware that Orthoxy does not allow turning on lights, starting or driving a motor vehicle, operating an engine or motor, lighting a stove or oven for cooking. The purported source of these prohibitions is based on Old Testament Laws --- "Thou shalt not kindle fire on the Sabbath." And since most electrical or engine devices involve an electical spark, this leads to the conclusion that El Al should not be firing up their jet engines on the Sabbath. (This is all, of course, one intrepretation of the issue.)

If this thread was about stopping Saturday bus service in Lakewood NJ, a mixed community with regard to religion and culture and ethnicity, we'd be chuckling. The issue regarding El Al is whether or not the Ultra-Orthodox community has enough financial impact on El Al's bottom line to effect discontinuation of Sabbath flights.

Oh, and to be fair, this issue pales in the face of the sectarian differences within Islam where they don't boycott --- they just blow each other up with explosive devices.