Last week, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz called on hospital administrators to follow the High Court’s directive and not check visitors’ files during Passover in search of chametz. We can allow such a person to continue to be a minister if he continues to make these statements. ”
Since then, Horowitz has had time to respond to things and say that he is “not excited about Silman,” and the Minister of Religious Affairs, Matan Kahana, also addressed the issue and in an interview with News 12 said that it was an unnecessary storm. “Unfortunately the health minister chose to provoke it in a way that pushes the partners a finger in the eye. But fundamentally nothing has changed.”
The former Minister of Education, Rabbi Shai Firon, also addressed the issue and in a post he uploaded to his Facebook account today, he called it “another reason for free controversy and hatred.” At the beginning of his remarks, he stated that hospitals are a public space and that the State of Israel is a Jewish state, and therefore, “the observance of chametz on Passover in hospitals is not a religious matter but an identity matter.” In his words, Rabbi Firon proposes, “the possibility of human beings,” a solution that will solve the storm.
“Chametz should not be allowed in hospital wards. This is part of its character, the symbols of the state. It also usually has rights. Just as the siren on Memorial Day expresses the feelings, opinions and thoughts of most of its citizens. “The same applies to chametz. A very large number of Israelis still do not eat chametz on Passover. They also have rights, and the majority must also be protected from harm.”
At the end of his speech, the former Minister of Education states that a place should be allocated for chametz eaters. “Every hospital should have a room, however, respectable and worthy that has tables, chairs, a refrigerator, microwaves for heating, etc. Anyone who wants to eat chametz, can sit comfortably and respectfully in a separate space and eat what they want to eat.”