Israeli rabbis order a prayer after the "profanation" of Eurovision "News from the capital

By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, Jerusalem, ZZZ, May 15th – Israel's leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis on Wednesday called for prayer in response to the planned desecration of the Jews' holy day of rest through Eurovision Song Contest.

This year's competition takes place in Tel Aviv. The finals will not start until the end of the Sabbath Saturday, but rehearsals and production preparations should be held earlier in the day.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews strictly adhere to the religious law prohibiting work on the Sabbath, a weekly day of rest from Friday at sunset until Saturday at sunset.

The organizers of Eurovision have the objective of "publicly desecrating our great holy and glorious Sabbath, God preserve us," said Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky in a handwritten missive approved by another senior religious leader, Rabbi Gershon Edelstein.

"They are also forcing many Sabbath-keeping Jews to work on Saturday, and we can not defeat their plan, and that (desecration) is a danger to our presence here in the Holy Land," said the 91-year-old spiritual leader. years says in the letter circulating on religious media.

"We must call and intonate and implore God to protect us," said Kanievsky, calling on the faithful to gather in synagogues and religious colleges at midnight on Friday for "prayers and atonements and asking for mercy".

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu badured leaders of ultra-Orthodox political parties that Eurovision was an international event "not controlled by the government".

"The Israeli government does not seek to desecrate the Sabbath and most of the participants in the event are foreign and non-Jewish," Netanyahu wrote to them.

Netanyahu is currently in negotiations, including with ultra-Orthodox parties, to form a new ruling coalition following the general election last month.

He faces a deadline of May 29 to form a new government.

The Sabbath would be one of the reasons why Eurovision organizers and Israeli hosts decided not to hold the event in the religiously conservative city of Jerusalem.