Israel: Transport minister inaugurates 'Shabbat' bus line

Israel's Transport Minister Merav Michaeli participated in the launch of a new rapid bus line in the northern coastal city of Haifa on Saturday.

She was widely criticized for taking part in the official inauguration on Shabbat.

Before taking the new line, Michaeli spoke with a small group of protesters who had organized a kiddush, a ritual marking the Shabbat, on the spot. One of the protesters told the minister that her actions were like "an arrow in the eyes of religious Israelis."

In response, Michaeli cited the fact that Haifa, which has a mixed population, has long offered public transportation on Shabbat, unlike most Jewish-majority cities where buses and trains don't run Friday nights to Saturday after sunset.

"Now there are other options," she later tweeted.

She also called for the expansion of public transport across the country on Saturdays. 

“Now is the time to fight to make our voices heard,” she said. "You all deserve freedom of movement, you all deserve to go where you want, when and how you want."

According to the Walla news site, invitations to the event were sent by Michaeli's Labor Party and not the Transport Ministry, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue of official events on Shabbat.

The minister's decision to attend the event aroused the disapproval of several religious members of parliament.

Michaeli has already been widely criticized in recent weeks for her efforts to advance public transport on the weekly day of rest, particularly in Tel Aviv. Last week, she announced the intention to operate the light rail line which will soon open in the Tel Aviv region during Shabbat.

The absence of public transport on Shabbat was born out of an agreement reached between the ultra-Orthodox community and Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, even before the formation of the state.

Haifa, whose population is both Jewish and Arab, is an exception to the rule, however, with public transport operating every day of the week. 

In 2019, the Tel Aviv Municipality opened bus routes for residents of the city and surrounding areas. 

A poll by the advocacy group Hiddush conducted following the move found that among Jewish Israelis, 71 percent were in favor of Shabbat transportation, including 94 percent of secular Israelis.