Despite requests and threats by chareidi MKs and cabinet ministers, the chilul Shabbos involved in maintenance on Israel Railways. Railway officials insist the work cannot be carried out during the week for this would have too harsh an impact and commuters. The chareidim explain the work being done is not pikuach nefesh, and therefore cannot be carried out on Shabbos.
According to the report appearing in HaMevaser, the work has to do with railroad maintenance of tracks in the Tel Aviv area in no way justifies working on Shabbos. Chareidi MKs have threatened continue work on the railway may be the cause of a coalition crisis. Chareidi lawmakers have turned their anger towards Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, signaling continued work endangers the future stability of the coalition.
They were also promised a committee of four, including a Yahadut Hatorah representative, would be formed to discussed and approve any and all work carried out on Shabbos.
It is also pointed out a particular station can be closed during the week to accommodate the necessary workers and it does not have to be done on Shabbos. Head of the Vaad for Kedushas Shabbos, Rabbi Yitzchak Goldknoff, stated, “it is written ושמרי בני ישראל את השבת, and that Shabbos protects us, Klall Yisrael.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
4 Responses
Who are they trying to kid? Everyone knows that there will be no coalition crisis. The “frum” MKs have bigger things to worry about than kedushas Shabbos. And of course they haven’t bothered to consult the Moetzes for instruction as to what to do. The reasons for which some rabbanim originally permitted the “frum” MKs to sit in the knesses haminim are obviously no longer applicable – they were supposed to remain in the opposition, to fight for Yiddishkeit, to protest against chillul Hashem etc.. What do they have to show for themselves today?
If there is any sakanah to the repair crews, than the issue is one of pikuach nefesh. We don’t want some political hacks from the religious parties second guessing the technical experts as to what work can be done “safely” with trains running by the workers within a meter’s distance or perhaps the fact that many of these workers are Arab, they simply don’t care. Let the experts run the railroads and keep their noses out of matters they are not qualified to address.
Yehuda 26, without them in the government like what happened for 2 years a couple of years ago, was a total disaster for the frum community re schools,school transport, child allowances, shmirat kedusha of holy places,etc.etc.We need frum representatives in the Knesset and Gedolei Israel have spoken out against railway building on Shabbat.It’s strange but railways,roads,etc. get built in the U.S. and other countries on a 5 day work week!
To docelisheva
If you read the article correctly, the work relates to maintenance of tracks in the Tel Aviv area, not the “building” of a new rail line. You incorrectly state that in the U.S. railways “get built” on a 5 day week. That is correct since when they are being built, there are no users and no conflicts. However, subway and rail maintenance are totally different and to take a line out of service during peak work days (6 days a week in EY) creates massive disruption and major burdens on the lower income workers who rely on the rail and have no ability to drive or take a cab to work. In Washington D.C. and New York City right now major sections of the rail maintenance work are done when the lines are closed on Weekends or even during the week since there is no way to safely repair installed railways, railbed and signals with trains whizzing by.