The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Opinion Public transportation on Shabbat: the movement's populism | Israel today

2022-08-29T07:34:16.949Z


It seems that the Minister of Transportation, Merav Michaeli, sees the IDF as an ideological servant and is less concerned with finding a solution to the daily plight of millions of citizens.


Israel's roads have become a nightmare.

A long car ride became at best a nerve-wracking event, and at worst a life-threatening event.

This is true for any type of public transportation that travels on the roads, especially buses, and the only exception is Israel Railways - when it arrives on time.

Efficient transportation is a key element in our quality of life, work productivity, work-leisure balance, health, accessibility to essential services and the ability of citizens to live outside the metropolis and still work and spend time there.

Exactly for this purpose our tax money funds the important body called the Ministry of Transport.

However, it seems that the Minister of Transportation is mainly concerned with waving ideological flags and less with finding a solution to the daily plight of millions of citizens.

In recent months, the minister excitedly announced important transportation events: the beginning of the evacuation of Tel Aviv's central station; the establishment of a public and cooperative transportation route on Ayalon routes; the launch of a night train from Tel Aviv to Tel Aviv; the beginning of the fight against the "exclusion of women" in public transportation, including the placement of dedicated inspectors; The price reform in public transportation; and the newest news - promotion of public transportation on Shabbat.

The astute reader will easily recognize the common denominator in all of Merav Michaeli's flagship projects: they all see only the state of Tel Aviv in front of their eyes.

The trains that connect the north and the south to the center of the country will stop even before 9:00 p.m., but night lines to the city closest to Israel will run. The access road to Tel Aviv was quickly converted to a VIP road - and other roads will continue to need spot treatment such as a traffic light or a separation fence; and the struggle Separating men and women in public transportation along with promoting public transportation on Shabbat are clear ideological issues whose flag bearers are the people of Greater Tel Aviv, such as Michaeli herself and most of the Knesset members from the Labor Party.

True, Tel Aviv is Israel's main (and only) economic metropolis, and finding a solution to its transportation problems is an extremely important task. In general, transportation solutions are a long-term issue, and Merev Michaeli has only been in office for a year and a half. It should be fair to say that there are probably other important things being done which are not published. But the matter is in the doses. There is no escaping the conclusion that the minister sees Chabat as an ideological servant, and that she is right to allocate resources to it even when the system desperately needs more basic things.

With all due respect to the temperature on the train (by the way, still freezing), to the "signs" and to the inspectors excluding women - the citizens of Israel should not be hostages in the hands of Sarah who decides to prioritize a campaign over the basic daily needs of all of us.

The decision to promote a Jewish holiday on Shabbat is a refined expression of populism. The issue is anchored in the historical status quo agreement. It is possible to open it up, to discuss it, to lay out relevant and essential arguments, to find new solutions and balances for common life in the country - but nothing is done. Instead of leading to deep and grounded change, There is a systematic and deliberate violation of Shabbat status, and even more so during a transitional government, in the hope that we will forget what transportation looks like on the other days of the week.

were we wrong

We will fix it!

If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-08-29

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.