MIDDLE EAST: Israel's ultra-orthodox Jews are alarmed by government plans for the national drinking water supply during Passover, which they fear will contravene strict kosher dietary laws for the week-long holiday, which starts next month, writes Nuala Haughey in Jerusalem
Some parliamentarians from ultra-religious parties fear that water drawn from the Sea of Galilee during the religious holiday may be contaminated with sandwiches or crumbs of bread containing leaven, a product that is strictly prohibited during Passover.
Passover, which this year starts on April 5th, is the eight day observance commemorating the freedom and exodus of the Israelites (Jewish slaves) from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II.
For years, pumping from the sea, Israel's main freshwater reservoir, into the national pipeline was halted during Passover week due to concerns among ultra-orthodox Jews that non-observant visitors or fishermen might taint the supply with leaven by dropping sandwiches or bread crumbs into it.
Only carefully baked unleavened bread (matzah) is eaten by observant Jews during Passover, so traces of hametz - leavened bread and related products made from fermented grain - would render the water unfit for consumption.
Rabbinical authorities have ruled that the water's kosher-for-Passover status is not affected, as the quantity of bread would be negligible in relation to the volume of the sea, known locally as Lake Kinneret. But ultra-Orthodox Jews opted not to drink Sea of Galilee water during Passover anyway, and the state accommodated them in past years by pumping water from other sources such as wells and springs.
However, Infrastructure Minister Mr Yosef Paritzky from the secular Shinui Party has caused ripples within the ultra-Orthodox community by announcing plans to depart from tradition this year.
Due to unusually high rainfall, the Minister has ordered that water should continue to be pumped from the Sea of Galilee into the national pipeline during Passover week. Mr Paritzky told the Knesset this week that if pumping was stopped, the sea's water level could breach its upper limit. This would force the authorities to needlessly release fresh lake water into the very saline Dead Sea, a waste which would cost the Israeli economy an estimated $3million.
This decision sparked a series of stormy responses in the Knesset this week, with Mr Moshe Gafni from United Torah Judaism branding the minister as impudent and a thief.
"It was the Holy One - Blessed Be He - who filled the Sea of Galilee when he responded to the Jews' many prayers," explained Mr Gafni, quoted in the Hebrew daily newspaper Maariv.
"It is the right of all those faithful Jews who prayed to the Holy One - Blessed Be He - and asked that he open up the skies and bring rain to the land. Now along comes Paritzky and wants to steal that water that the Jews prayed for.
"He will make it so Jews won't be able to turn on the faucet during the holiday, and will have to filter their water. The very least he could have done was the consult with the chief rabbis." Mr Eli Yashi, chairman of the largest ultra-Orthodox party, Shas, claimed the minister wanted to "turn all the people of Israel, the majority of whom are scrupulous about hametz, into sinners. A solution that won't hurt many people can be found. The insistence on targeting every Jewish symbol is nauseating".
Mr MK Hemi Doron from the secular Shinui party tried to allay the fears of his ultra-religious colleagues who he said were "afraid that bread is going to come pouring out of their faucets".
"I have a water purifier installed in my house that makes sure that no foreign objects come out with the water. In general, the purification installations for the Sea of Galilee waters include filters, so that the excuse that water mustn't be pumped because of fear of hametz seemed to me to be an unparalleled absurdity, which made me burst out laughing.
"I understand when people want to stop pumping because the Sea of Galilee is empty, but to stop out of fear of breadcrumbs, that's ridiculous. We are a country that is not blessed with large water resources, and even the haredim's prayers on that count haven't helped."