Tel Aviv Light Rail System Opens Friday Amid Protests Over Shabbat Non-Operation

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — As the new light rail system in the Tel Aviv metropolitan region opened with fanfare on Friday, hundreds of activists converged on its stations to protest the government’s refusal to operate the public transportation system on the Sabbath.

The 24-km transit system, traversing 34 stations from Bat Yam to Petah Tikva, opened to the public Friday after decades of planning and years of construction. Hebrew media outlets reported that 100,000 people used the system on its first day in action, which was free of charge.

The government decided that the transit system would remain closed on Shabbat, opening an hour after Shabbat and closing three hours beforehand, despite earlier declarations by former transport minister Merav Michaeli that the train would run on Shabbat.

Protesters against the non-operation on Shabbat camped out at the entrances of several stations and dozens boarded some of the last trains of the day. Some protesters handcuffed themselves to the handrails to try and remain on the train until the Sabbath.

In response, the operator shut down the train at Tel Aviv’s Elifelet station — forgoing final stops in Bat Yam — and turned off the air conditioning.

Activists stood their ground for more than two hours before peacefully dispersing. One activist was filmed being forcefully arrested by police after tossing popsicles to demonstrators at a Tel Aviv station. Officers pushed him to the ground before dragging him away in a chokehold.

The new train system is a welcome development for residents of the Tel Aviv metropolitan era, but has aroused the already simmering frustration over the lack of public transportation on Shabbat, which is currently part of the status quo in most towns except for Haifa, which has a large Arab population.

Secular residents, who make up the majority in the area, argue that such services should be available to them without harming the sensitivities of religious Israelis who refrain from their use on Shabbat. However the transit system also has several stations adjacent to Bnei Brak and local chareidi residents were incensed that Michaeli planned to open the system on Shabbat.

Current transportation minister Miri Regev reversed Michaeli’s decision, stating Wednesday that “We will uphold the status quo, according to which the train will not operate on Shabbat. For non-religious people, Shabbat is also a day of rest. And this is a Jewish state,” Regev told journalists on Wednesday.

When Regev arrived at one of the stations earlier in the day, the activists sought to disrupt the visit, chanting, “Freedom of movement — even on the Sabbath.”

Regev reiterated her stance on Friday, telling Channel 12, “Israel is a Jewish state. We preserve the status quo. I don’t understand what they are protesting about.”

Protesters affiliated with the Pinkfront liberal-rights group also carried placards calling for “freedom to sit where we want” and “freedom in our country.”

“A liberal country serves all of its citizens. No one will tell us where to sit, no one will take away our freedom of movement on Shabbat, no one will silence us. The liberal public in Israel wants to live freely, including on the weekends. We want equality without coercion,” Pinkfront said in a statement, pledging to hold such protests every Friday.