Wheels Fall Off Bike Rental Project In Yom Kippur Face-Off

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mk-yisrael-katzTransportation and Road Safety Minister Yisrael Katz has urged Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai to reconsider a recent decision to allow city residents to rent bicycles from a municipal-operated system on Yom Kippur this year, threatening financial sanctions if Huldai should refuse.

According to halacha, operating any kind of vehicle on Yom Kippur is prohibited. However, although Israelis generally observe the ban on driving cars on the holy day, many less-observant Israelis take advantage of the empty streets to ride bicycles and skates.

The city-run Tel-O-Fun bicycle rental program has been an enormous success in the year since it became operational.

Katz insisted on Sunday that allowing Tel Aviv residents to rent bicycles on Yom Kippur would signify a grave affront to “the most holy symbol of the State of Israel.”

“This is a crossing of a line. The Tel-O-Fun project is an important project but, unfortunately, Huldai is using it to further his political agenda and sullying the Jews’ holiest day,” Katz said in a statement.

The minister announced that if Huldai refused to prevent bicycle rentals on Yom Kippur, he would stop allocating Transportation Ministry funds to the project.

“This is an important and successful project, and that is why the ministry has always supported and encouraged the initiative by allocating budgets and paving bicycle paths. But if Huldai decides to break the rules and desecrate this holy day I will halt all aid and ministry support of this project,” Katz said.

Read more at ISRAEL HAYOM

{Matzav.com Newscenter}


3 COMMENTS

  1. We need to understand that those who fight so hard to desecrate all that is holy in Eretz Yisrael do not have Jewish neshamas and are not of Jewish descent, meaning not from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. If not mamash outright goyim, they are Erev Rav. Being secular and/or not knowing (i.e.like kidnapped children)is something else altogether. But, these people fight with all their might to go against Torah and H’, as if they are in a literal war against Him. There is a battle going on today for Eretz Yisrael and for Yiddishkeit all over the world that’s a spiritual battle. That is why it is imperative that all G-D fearing Jews unite with one mind and heart (no in-fighting within the religious world) to counter those from ‘within’ who are our biggest enemy. Then miraculously, these sonim from within will fall by the wayside. Even our outside enemies will fall. “From within your midst will come your worst enemies”. We need to learn from this.

  2. Before I comment on this story I think it is only fair to state that I am a chiloni Israeli. I always have been and I always will be.

    That said, I want to register my disgust at Mayor Huldai’s cynical moneymaking bid to increase the use of his hire bikes davka on Yom Kippur.

    Not all Israeli chilonim are chareidi bashers by any means, and this particular chiloni is appalled at what is going on in his town.

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