Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz is under a storm of criticism from Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and secular lawmakers for agreeing to ultra-Orthodox parties' demands to freeze Shabbat construction on a new bridge across the Ayalon Highway.
The work, which involves the construction of six massive arches weighing a total of over 1,000 tons, had been scheduled to take place over six consecutive Sabbaths starting from Fri. Aug. 31, closing either the northbound or southbound lanes from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. Over Shabbat, there is far less traffic on and around the highway – one of the major arteries leading into and out of Tel Aviv – than during the week.
United Torah Judaism head and Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman wrote to Katz, expressing his objection to the Sabbath construction schedule.
"I was amazed to see that the Transportation Ministry, under your leadership, is planning – along with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and the Welfare and Social Services Ministry – to carry out work on the Yehudit Bridge spanning the Ayalon Highway for several weeks," Litzman wrote.
MK Uri Maklev (United Torah Judaism) said, "Today, solutions to everything can be found, whether it's through scheduling or proper planning. [Desecrating] Shabbat is not a solution."
On Wednesday, Katz called the statement from the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and the Ayalon Highways Company announcing the planned construction "unnecessary and infuriating."
"The construction method for the bridge that has been chosen [with work scheduled on Shabbat] seems problematic, and could adversely affect the public over the weekend," Katz said.
The Ayalon Highways Company said the planning process for the bridge emphasizes safety both for workers and the general public. Ample time has been allotted to set up construction cranes and the work had been scheduled for weekends, when there is less foot and road traffic in the area.
"This is an important project that the Transportation Ministry and the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality have spearheaded through the Ayalon Highway Company. It will connect the eastern part of the city [Tel Aviv] to the western half and will encourage green transport, walking and biking, and will allow residents of Ramat Gan and Givatayim [Tel Aviv's neighboring cities to the east] to reach central Tel Aviv without a car, and will help cut down on the number of cars … for the benefit of all residents of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area," the company said.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai called Katz's decision "scandalous."
"Closing the Ayalon Highway during the week will create a transportation catastrophe that will be much bigger than what was caused by the tie-ups that happened when Saturday work on the train infrastructure was stopped," Huldai said.
"The government has lost all shame … and we, the public, must not give in. I've instructed the [city's] legal department to look into the possibility of a High Court petition on the matter. Just like the decision on closing supermarkets on Shabbat, this is part of the [haredi] attempt to change the character of the country and the city," Huldai said.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said, "The haredim, who are really the ones who control this government, ordered Prime Minister Netanyahu to freeze the work on the Ayalon Highway. So Netanyahu obeyed and froze it, and we'll find ourselves in crazy traffic jams again. The only government that didn't give into their [haredim] whims was the one we put together. The only one that won't give into them is one we will head."
Zionist Union chairman Avi Gabbay said that Netanyahu "doesn't care if we sit in traffic. Only someone who doesn't care about the public could give in so quickly."
Meretz chairwoman Tamar Zandberg said, "In a liberal, democratic country in 2018, infrastructure work should be carried out in accordance with [public] needs and in the manner that least affects the citizens, not according to primitive whims of politicians who serve rabbis, not the public. Katz's insufferable buckling to the haredim proves how far this government is moving Israel away from liberal democracy."
