By Matti Friedman, The Associated PressJERUSALEM — The figure responsible for Israel's latest religious row is a bespectacled British teenager who is gifted with magical powers, world famous and entirely fictional.
The synchronized worldwide launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and last installment in the wildly popular series, falls at 2:01 a.m. local time this Saturday — on the Jewish Sabbath, when Israeli law requires most businesses to close.
With Israelis already clamoring for Deathly Hallows, many bookstores are planning to launch the book on time anyway. That has drawn fire from Orthodox Jewish lawmakers, including Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai, who threatened to fine any store that opens Saturday.
"Israeli law forbids businesses to force their employees to work on the Sabbath, and that applies in this case as well. The minister will fine and prosecute any businesses which violate the law," said Roei Lachmanovich, a spokesman for Yishai, of the ultra-0rthodox Jewish Shas party.
Avraham Ravitz of the United Torah Judaism Party slammed the Potter books for their "defective messages."
"Israeli law forbids businesses to force their employees to work on the Sabbath, and that applies in this case as well. The minister will fine and prosecute any businesses which violate the law," said Roei Lachmanovich, a spokesman for Yishai, of the ultra-0rthodox Jewish Shas party.
Avraham Ravitz of the United Torah Judaism Party slammed the Potter books for their "defective messages."
"We don't have to be dragged like monkeys after the world with this subculture, and certainly not while violating our holy Sabbath," Ravitz said in a statement.
Steimatzky, Israel's biggest bookstore chain, is holding a gala event in Tel Aviv beginning Friday night to launch the book, and the company has no plans to change the time, said spokeswoman Alona Zamir.
"We're required by our agreement with the book's publisher to launch the book at the same time as everywhere else in the world," Zamir said.
The chain has already received tens of thousands of advance orders for Deathly Hallows in English, with the book's Hebrew translation due out close to the end of 2007, she said.
Worldwide, the Potter books have sold more than 325 million copies, have been translated into at least 64 languages, and have been spun off into a hit movie series.
Worldwide, the Potter books have sold more than 325 million copies, have been translated into at least 64 languages, and have been spun off into a hit movie series.
The book's author, J.K. Rowling, has indicated that two characters die in the new book, leading to speculation that one of them might be Harry himself.
4 comments:
Well, maybe this will be the catalyst for those Isrealis to begin to question their ancient tribal religion that really doesn't make any sense and makes them feel better than everyone else because they're the chosen people or whatever. Obviously being a Wiccan is more fun because you can buy books anytime you want.
Can't Wiccan's just make the books appear with the wave of a wand?
Damn straight Julie!
But at least they're not trying to ban the books altogether like the fundies in Missouri are...
"We don't have to be dragged like monkeys after the world with this subculture..."
That is so disrespectful towards monkeys.
I wonder if there's any wiggle room on the "force their employees to work" angle, i.e. could they maybe find Pottermania volunteers? It's hard to fight fandom.
It's also hard to fight the bling. I bet the stores in question are risking the fines because they stand to make far more money selling the books.
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