With PM Benjamin Netanyahu flying out to the United Nations later today to speech at the General Assembly, an interesting debate was sparked.
When should the Prime Minister return from the United States of America back to Israel?
It sounds like a pretty benign question but it is actually far more heated than it probably should or needs to be.
As soon as Netanyahu started talking his travel schedule, some UTJ MKs and Ministers started talking up about how Netanyahu should stay in the USA for Shabbos and only return after as chilul shabbos would not be justified.
Other, including from the Religious Zionist party said just the opposite. We are in a situation of pikuach nefesh and the Prime Minister should return immediately, as soon as his work there is done, and travel even if it means traveling on Shabbos - it would be a mitzva to do so.
Let's not forget, the Prime Minister of Israel is currently in the middle of leading a war against Hamas in Gaza and against Hezbollah in Lebanon. at any moment this could expand to include other enemy countries, and it needs clear leadership to make operative decisions on military actions.
In my unimportant and insignificant opinion, if the Prime Minister thinks it is important to go to the United Nations, as waging the war also includes the diplomacy and the speeches from the floor of the United Nations and from other places and meeting with world leaders, then that is something he should when necessary find or make the time to do. And with the physical war still ongoing he needs to flip the switch and go from one to the other seamlessly, on a moments notice.
I think the justification of MK Gafni and Minister Goldknopf (and others who might have weighed in and said not to travel back until after Shabbos) would go something like this:If running the war is so critical, he doesn't have to go to the United Nations. If he can go to the UN, he can wait until after shabbos to return
Interestingly, Bibi won't tell them sorry but I have to come back. His office announced the schedule that would include staying Shabbos there and flying back after Shabbos. They already made their public statement and can't walk it back now so if he comes back on Shabbos they have to create a coalition crisis, so running the war takes a back seat. Which in retrospect maybe, perhaps, also shows that his immediate return isn't quite as critical as we might think
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