Dozens of people demonstrated Saturday against the lack of public transportation
in Jerusalem on Shabbat during a Meretz party protest called “Shabbat of
Freedom.”
Meretz has brought their Shabbat bus to other major cities
across the country including Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba, Holon, Herzilya and Hod
Hasharon to protest for more public transportation options on
Shabbat.
“The Transportation Ministry needs to liberate themselves from
the religious coercion and allow organized public transportation also on the
weekends,” said Meretz MK Nitzan Horowitz, as he joined the Shabbat bus in the
capital on Saturday. “This is an essential service that is very important for
both the environmental and social reasons: allowing anyone who has no car or
cannot drive to get around, and minimizing the traffic on the roads.”
On
Saturday, Meretz’s free Shabbat bus picked up passengers in the popular student
neighborhoods of Kiryat Hayovel, Beit Hakerem, Rehavia and Nahlaot, and drove
them to the few bars in the city’s center that are open on Shabbat. Deputy Mayor
Pepe Alalu (Meretz) joined in the event for a discussion on the city’s
struggles.
Haredi city council members in Jerusalem are opposed to street
parties on Shabbat, which they claim are a provocation.
“The beauty of
Jerusalem is honoring the status quo,” said city council member Shlomo
Rosenstein of the Yahadut Hatorah party earlier this summer in response to a
street party planned by activist organization Ruah Hadasha. “No group can force
the city to be its own way, not the haredim who don’t want anyone to drive on
Shabbat, and not the secular residents.”
Meretz representatives in Tel
Aviv, Herzilya, Ra’anana and Kfar Saba have petitioned their respective cities
for public transportation on Shabbat, something the Transportation Ministry has
refused to grant. Meretz petitioned the High Court of Justice to overturn the
ministry’s decision and is currently awaiting a response from the ministry.