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Israeli Government Lets Footballers Keep Saturday

© AP Photo / Tara Todras-WhitehillJewish settler schoolboys play soccer at a school in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kedumim, near Nablus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010
Jewish settler schoolboys play soccer at a school in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Kedumim, near Nablus, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010 - Sputnik International
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While football reigns supreme in the Holy Land, matches held on Shabbat have long been an apple of discord between secular Israelis and the country's ultra-Orthodox community.

Judaism forbids working on Shabbat, observed from Friday to Saturday night, but when it comes to the world's game, the Israeli League takes its cue from the rest of the world, scheduling some of the most important matchups on Saturdays.

READ MORE: FC Krasnodar Striker Fyodor Smolov: Top Clubs Don't Want Russians

And Labor and Social Affairs Minister Haim Katz just upheld that arrangement, signing the general waiver permitting the football industry to continue operating on Shabbat.

"The general authorization I have granted preserves the status quo that has been in effect since the creation of the state," Katz said in a statement.

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