The unfortunate reality in today’s Israel is that even celebratory events are impacted by the country’s continuing controversy over the government’s efforts to limit the power of the judiciary and related actions that have divided the country.
And so, even as the city of Tel Aviv sought last week to celebrate the opening of the city’s long-delayed and even longer-awaited light rail system – an eight-year, $5 billion project that promises to reshape the experience of commuting to Tel Aviv or moving within it — the event was marred by protesters who taunted Israel’s transportation minister, Miri Regev. Similar demonstrations followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he attended opening ceremonies the next day in neighboring Petah Tikvah.
What was noteworthy about the protests, however, was their shift in focus from the massive demonstrations over the past eight months. While many of the demonstrators were there to continue protesting the government’s heavy-handed judicial overhaul, many attended to object to the recent announcement by Regev that the new Red Line train will not operate on Shabbat.
Although it is common in Israel for public transportation to be closed on Shabbat (except in Haifa, which has a large Arab population), the country’s former transportation minister, Merav Michaeli, promised that the Red Line would be different, and that it would run on Friday evenings and all day on Saturday. That announcement prompted strenuous objections from many in the Orthodox community, including from leaders in the haredi Orthodox city of Bnei Brak, which has several stops along the Red Line route.
With the Netanyahu government’s inclusion of right-wing and haredi Orthodox parties, the reaction to the haredi protests was not surprising. Regev reversed Michaeli’s decision. Many locals were not happy. Indeed, longtime Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai skipped the opening ceremony over the Shabbat closure decision.
For now, Israel’s Red Line will not operate on Shabbat. And that decision is not likely to change under the Netanyahu government. We will wait to see whether the continuing opposition protests add a plank about religious coercion issues, as suggested by many who protested at the train opening ceremony.
But in the meantime, we want to celebrate the new Red Line that promises to ease congestion and gridlock in Tel Aviv and reduce frustration while expanding commuting opportunities and helping to open surrounding areas for new residents who will have easy commuting access to the city.
According to reports, there is more to come. Plans are being pursued to add two more light rail lines as part of a project that will ultimately include 139 stations in 14 Israeli cities, with anticipated completion dates in 2026 and 2028.
Although the realities of construction delays and increased expense will likely slow the new lines as they did the Red Line — and the Shabbat closure debate will probably continue — the reality of enhanced public transportation opportunities in densely populated areas and ready connections to more remote ones make these projects well worth pursuing. ■
