Hametz Law approved in committee, to be returned to Knesset plenum

The bill to restrict non-kosher for Passover food in hospitals was approved in the Knesset Health Committee on Wednesday and will be returned to the Knesset plenum for further readings.

The bill passed 6-3, with one vote for revisions rejected and another approved. Five similar bills were merged into a new article, in which hospital managers will have the discretion to decide on special Passover kosher arrangements, including whole prohibitions or restrictions to certain wards. The hospital would be required to consider the needs of patients and employees when making this decision, and to properly notify them through signage and online messages.

It is known as the “Hametz Law” because hametz – food that contains leavened products made from the five glutenous grains wheat, barley, rye, oats and spelt – renders food not kosher for Passover, although it may be kosher for the rest of the year.

“The law leaves the discretion to the hospital director and maintains the status quo,” assured committee chairman Shas MK Uriel Busso. “This is a softened and balanced version that we would not have enacted at all if they had not forced us through spiteful petitions, just like what happened at the Kotel and the issue of conversion. We are not asking to make any changes. All these laws simply take us back to what was there for 3,000 years, in order to maintain the status quo.”

Poriya Medical Center Director Dr. Erez Onn said they had feared at the beginning that “it would lead to situations we would not be able to tolerate, but the final decision is very balanced. It gives us the responsibility to give the right balances within the medical center – and that is appreciated.”

The Chief Rabbinate’s CEO expressed his support for the bill, which he said left much to the hospital administrators, who best understood the needs of their employees and patients.

Damages between secular and religious Jews

The committee members who voted against the bill argued that it was not only unnecessary but would do damage to the relations between secular and religious Jews.

“I worked as a nurse in a hospital and they would come with food on Passover and respect each other,” said MK Debbie Biton, adding that it was non-Jews who were most respectful. “There is no need to enact a law for such things.”

Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern argued that there would be even more non-kosher for Passover food in the hospitals because of the proposal, which would push people away from Judaism.

“The people are divided and polarized and this bill increases hatred toward Judaism and also toward the ultra-Orthodox,” said Stern. “I call for the postponement of all discussions on this issue.”

Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky said on Tuesday that the discussions leading up to the vote had been superficial without proper representation by religious and medical officials.

The law has been a flashpoint for previous governments. In the previous coalition, it served as a catalyst for divisions, ostensibly leading to the departure of now Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman. Her quitting destabilized the Knesset, ultimately ending in its dissolution.