Published: 19 June 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
A BILL PROPOSED by Meretz MK Tamar Zandberg to allow public transport on Shabbat was defeated on Wednesday, with Blue and White MKs who advocated for it during their election campaigns voting against the legislation.
Public transport on Shabbat is banned in all but a handful of municipal jurisdictions, and non-religious Israelis have long chafed at their inability to travel on Shabbat without a private vehicle.
Last year, several municipal authorities in the central district including Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Givatayim, Kiryat Ono and Ramat Hasharon, began operating a bus service on Shabbat and made it free to all passengers thereby circumventing existing laws against public transport on Shabbat.
The services have proved extremely popular but are costly for the municipalities operating them since they cannot charge for the service.
Blue and White’s campaign platform included a specific promise to allow municipalities which so wished to operate public transport on Shabbat. Nevertheless, nine Blue and White MKs voted against it.
FULL STORY Public transport on Shabbat bill defeated, Blue and White vote against (Jerusalem Post)
Photo: Marc Israel Sellem
