Tel Aviv Council Pleads for Shabbat Bus Service

Members of Tel Aviv’s municipal government appealed to Israel’s Supreme Court to allow public transportation on Shabbat in the city.

Members of the council’s left-wing Meretz Party, who proposed the February motion in the Tel Aviv Municipal Council, appealed to the High Court on Wednesday.

The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality sought a permit from the Israeli Transportation Ministry, but the ministry said in a statement that “There is a decades-old status quo regarding operation of public transportation on Shabbat, and the Transportation Ministry does not intend to violate it.”

The municipal resolution provides for the creation of an independent transportation service if the Transportation Ministry does not approve the request.

The lawsuit claims that the transportation minister’s refusal to consider the request goes against his legal obligations in his position.

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