Protest is gaining momentum: The fashion, catering and retail chains will open businesses Sunday

Public protest is gaining momentum and does not exist among the affected public but permeates the business sector. The fashion, catering and retail chains are announcing that they will open the stores early next week, even in closed malls. This will be done in violation of the closure provisions, which allow the opening of only stores that have been defined as essential, including food and pharma stores, home maintenance stores and optics stores.
Although today (Sunday) there will be a discussion chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the plan to leave the quarantine, according to the current plan, the opening of shops and malls will not take place before November 15 and the opening of restaurants and cafes will not take place before November 29.
According to an announcement issued this morning by the Chains Association, which unites 400 retail chains that operate about 18,000 stores, a zoom conference of all the chains will be held on Wednesday on preparations for the immediate opening of the stores, with representatives of the mall managements emphasizing the reopening.
"Even if the government does not approve, we will open the shops on Sunday - both in the streets, in the open centers and in the malls. I am talking about chains from all fields, including cafes," says Avi Shomer, owner of Tzomet Sefarim and a member of the board Trade, fashion and catering. The association includes companies including the Fox Group, Castro-Hoodies, Golf Group, Brill, Book Junction, Coffee Group, Toys R Us and Renoir. The decision on whether to open the gates will be reserved for each network individually, but according to Shomer, "From the talks we have had, most of the networks that are members of the association - if not all of them - will open on Sunday.
"We try to be law-abiding but the state forces us to open the stores. The data has repeatedly taught us that we are not contagious, and the current situation is that if we do not open, most chains will simply collapse," Schumer claims.
He demonstrates: "Our chain, for example, has sold about NIS 60 million less so far this year than last year - a decrease of about 25% - and this is only if it opens in the coming days and not in mid-November as the government demands. If the closure continues, most chains may collapse "The chains are big, too. We will not stand for that." However, Shumer emphasizes that the chain will not open the stores in red localities, and that all the purple mark rules will be observed in the areas where they will operate.
"There is a situation of blatant inequality. Even today, some of the shops on the street are open contrary to the guidelines. The toy shops are open contrary to the guidelines and do not enforce it. "