Israeli Student's Legalistic Protest of Hametz Law Fails

YNet News yesterday reported on the results of the trial in Israel growing out of an incident earlier this year that attracted significant attention. Yeshiva student Aryeh Yerushalmi protested an Israeli court's interpretation of the law that prohibits the public display of leavened products for sale or consumption during Passover. He entered a Tel Aviv grocery store, went to the bread section, and stripped, claiming that if a grocery is not "public" for purposes of the Hametz Law, it should not be for the indecent exposure law either. (See prior posting.) The Rishon Lezion Magistrates' Court apparently does not agree. While this week it acquitted him of indecent assault, it convicted him of indecent conduct in a public place. [Thanks to Joel Katz (Relig. & State in Israel) for the lead.]