Many Jerusalem shopkeepers insist that the light rail construction project has destroyed their livelihood. Earlier this week, many of them took to the streets and began burning tires on Jaffe Street, resulting in major traffic delays, stopping bus service for almost three quarters of an hour.

The city’s merchant’s association explains that dozens of stores are on the verge of fiscal collapse, not to mention the many shops that have closed their doors as a result of the ongoing construction.

What sparked the protest was the news that the railway’s operator, City Pass, has once again request a delay in the launching of the train service, now pushed off to October 2010. The shopkeepers vow that this week’s tire burning is just the beginning, angered at the continued delays which have dragged the project out years past its original deadline.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)