Happy ending: Will the country pool in Safed be closed on Shabbat? According to sources familiar with the details, the Haredi city council members, led by Deputy Mayor Nehorai Lahiani, have reached an agreement with the owners of the Zion Halal pool, according to which the pool will be closed on Shabbat in the coming months.
The Halal made the closure conditional on the protests against the pool stopping. There have indeed been no protests in recent weeks, but that is because the main organizer, Yehuda Dagan, is under house arrest. Dagan is expected to be released this Thursday, and it is still unknown whether a protest will be held in front of the pool this coming Saturday.
As you may recall, about a month ago, protests began in Safed against the country pool - the only business open on Shabbat in Safed, after a long period in which the local Shabbat committee tried to reach an agreement with the pool owners.
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The protests, which included mass Shabbat reception stands in front of the pool, caused a stir, and the city's secular public organized counter-demonstrations. Members of Knesset, such as Nitzan Horwitz of Meretz and Miki Rosenthal of Labor, also intervened and expressed support for the secular struggle against what they defined as "religious coercion.".
The owner of the pool, Zion Al-Halal, said at the time toHaredim10, because he is also in favor of closing the pool, but "this is a process that takes time.".
Council member Vicky Elkabetz, who organized the secular protests, told Haredim10 that she comes from a traditional and Sabbath-observing home, but she is against coercion.
When we contacted Zion Halel to get his response to the news, he flatly refused and said: "I no longer respond to anyone or any party, write whatever you want.".
Deputy Mayor Nahorai Lahiani's response has not yet been received.
