Court ruling8/7/2026

Supreme Court Upheld Local Rules Permitting Businesses to Open on Saturday

The Supreme Court of Israel rejected a request for an additional hearing in Case No. 3660/17, which concerned amendments to the Tel Aviv–Jaffa municipal bylaw. The Court ruled that the municipality may, taking local characteristics into account, regulate the opening of certain businesses on Saturday.

Key facts

•Case No. 3660/17
•Supreme Court of Israel, an expanded panel of seven justices
•The hearing was held on August 8, 2017
•The municipality enacted Amendments No. 1 and No. 2 in 2014
•Section 258 of the Municipalities Ordinance was applied
•No monetary amounts were mentioned in the case

Who Challenged What

The applicants were the General Association of Merchants and Independent Business Owners and ten business owners. The respondents included the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Economy and the Ministry of Economy, the Tel Aviv–Jaffa Municipality and the mayor, the Israel Land Authority, and commercial companies. The dispute centered on two amendments to the Tel Aviv–Jaffa Municipal Bylaw (Opening and Closing of Shops), 5740–1980.

What the Two Amendments Provided

Amendment No. 1 permitted business activity on Saturday in three commercial complexes, as well as the opening of stores at gas stations; the Minister of the Interior initially did not approve the provisions concerning large grocery stores. Amendment No. 2 provided for large grocery stores to open on an area-based basis, subject to restrictions and the receipt of a permit. Its publication was postponed on October 7, 2014, but no final decision was made for a long period.

Why the Court Rejected an Additional Hearing

The Court noted that after postponing publication, the minister was required to make one of the decisions prescribed by Section 258 of the Municipalities Ordinance: lift the postponement, reject the municipal bylaw in a reasoned decision, or return it to the municipal council with comments. The agreed deadline expired on October 16, 2015, while Interior Minister Aryeh Deri’s document rejecting the amendment was dated April 9, 2017, and, even by the time the original decision was issued, it had been sent neither to the Court nor to the municipality. The prolonged inaction was therefore rightly regarded as an unreasoned rejection that could not withstand judicial review.

Local Autonomy and the Character of Saturday

The Court emphasized that the minister had not given appropriate weight to the municipality’s autonomy and the characteristics of Tel Aviv–Jaffa. The Municipalities Ordinance Amendment Law (No. 40), 5750–1990, expressly permits a local authority to establish rules for opening businesses on Saturday, within the scope of its powers and subject to proportionality requirements. The reference to regulating the sale of pork and pork products was used as an example of other matters that the legislature had also delegated to the local level; no separate decision concerning the sale of pork was made in this case.

What this means for you

Municipalities may establish differing local rules for business activity on Saturday if they act within the powers granted to them by law and meet the requirements of administrative law. For residents and business owners, this means that operating hours may vary depending on the municipality concerned, the type of business, the area, and the conditions of the municipal permit. The decision does not establish a uniform nationwide arrangement for opening stores on Saturday.

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Case analysis based on court rulings