08 January 2006
After over a month, a boycott by the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel of the national airline El Al has come to an end. At a meeting the Committee for the Sanctity of Shabbat, which is run by representatives of all ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel, published an announcement saying that the parties had reached an agreement which would "allow the Haredi public to continue flying El Al." The Haredi boycott of the Israel's national carrier started after El Al decided to continue flights after the start of Shabbat on Friday evening to catch up with flights delayed due to the workers' strike. "As part of the agreement the El Al company announced its intention to continue to preserve the Shabbat as it has since the 1982 agreement, and as the company has announced in the past," the announcement said. Rabbi Yitzhak Goldknopf, chairman of the Committee for the Sanctity of Shabbat told "Ynet News" that the agreement was reached after "the Jewish leaders approved of its content." Neither of the parties gave further details of the agreement's content.
