Are some secular on 9 av like some haredi on Yom HaZikaron?

A Guest Post by Rafi G

Dan Meridor, a minister in the Israeli government, was spotted today, on Tisha B'Av, eating in a restaurant in Tel Aviv. His response was that he does not think it should be a day of mourning.

Follow my thread and train of thought for a moment as I work this out..

1. Dan Meridor is a minister, and not a specifically private person. Anything he does is representative of the government.
2. Even if he is to be looked at as a private person, he is breaking the spirit of the law, if not the law itself (the law does not allow eateries to be open, but I do not know if people eating there are also breaking the law).
3. Aside from the law about restaurants not being open, there is a law that declares Tisha B'Av as a day of national mourning. Going out to eat in a restaurant with other people is not exactly mourning.
4. When some religious people do not respect the siren and spirit of the day publicly on Yom HaShoah/Yom HaZikaron, the secular go crazy talking incessantly about how wrong they are (and they are wrong).
5. Why is Tisha B'Av any different from Yom HaShoah in this regard? i.e. why is it ok for some secular to open restaurants and eat out on Tisha B'Av, but not ok for some religious to not stand during the siren on Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaShoah?
   

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