Yerushalayim Train May Have Mehadrin Cars

7
>>Follow Matzav On Whatsapp!<<

yerushalayim-train-light-railCityPass CEO Yair Naveh said today that he supports segregated men only and women only cars on the Jerusalem light rail train, which reporters and officials were invited to ride in a celebratory ceremony on Monday.The train, being built by CityPass, is not yet operational, and is slated for launch in April 2011.

“The train was built to serve everyone,” Naveh said, in response to a question on segregated cars. “I think it is required to create alternatives for everyone, and that option exists because of the train’s division into cars. It is not a problem to declare every third or fourth car a mehadrin (kosher) car.”

Rachel Azariya, a member of the Jerusalem city council and one of the opponents of the existing ‘mehadrin’ bus lines in Jerusalem (on which men sit in the front of the bus and women sit only in the back), criticized Naveh’s declaration, saying that “Naveh is apparently unaware of the high court ruling forbidding further segregation.”

“Naveh was appointed to run a project – that doesn’t mean that he can tell people where to sit and where not to sit, nor does it mean that he knows anything about values and democracy,” Azariya said.

The ceremonial ride was attended by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz. Work on the light rail began eight years ago, and has since suffered endless delays and caused countless inconveniences to the residents of Jerusalem, and has become almost synonymous with management failure. The officials at the helm of the project now wish to display a positive facade to the residents of the city.

“Fortunately, we can confidently say today that things are under control, there is a positive atmosphere and positive momentum,” Barkat said during the ceremony. “There are still hurdles, but we’re on the right path.”

Katz added that “I have been called to calm down MKs, ministers and even prime ministers who live in Jerusalem more than once, and I have been asked about the project endlessly. We can now see the beginning of the end, or at least the end of the beginning.”

Naveh said that “the train will promote growth in Jerusalem. We’re moving ahead with trials on the tracks… Residents of the city will be able to enjoy the train by next spring.”

{Haaretz/Matzav.com Israel}


7 COMMENTS

  1. Hey Azariya,
    Mabe you should take some lessons & learn what democracy really means. It DOES NOT mean that what YOU want is democratic, & what doesn’t agree with your agenda is automatically un-(or anti)democratic. You demanded the chamor parade – against the majority, yeah that’s OK because you’re for it. The Temple Faithful have no right to march to Har Habais because you’re against it (nothing to do with Halacha now). The same with Baruch Merzel’s march. Etc, etc.
    It’s amazing what happens to Jews when they have no Torah!
    Get a life!

  2. I cant understand why this should bother someone! and I am not even speaking from an halachic perspective, I am just speaking on practical terms why in a democracy cant one gender if they feel more comfortable being in their own car why cant they do that? Why would someone claiming to be speaking in the name of democracy oppose such a thing? Its a democracy theres mixed cars and seperate cars and the same goes for the buses there are mixed seating buses and seperate seating, why should this bother anybody preaching in the name of democracy? Why would you want to impose your views on someone else thats a dictatorship, this is weird frei people proposing their chiloni views upon frum people whilst claiming to be talking in the name of democracy!

  3. To Practicly Speaking. What you don’t understand sir is the term democracy. If you took your own private money and set up your own system that is your business. A democracy is about free access to all. It’s not about taking public monies to satisfy every whim at the expense of the public.

  4. Many Jews in israel have decided never to go outside of Israel due to Halacha of living in Eretz Yisrael. Some Jews in Jerusalem never leave the city!

  5. I understand the bus argument: once it’s mehadrin, the ppl that don’t want it are inconvenienced. A train with 8 cars that has 4 and 5 separate and 1-3 and 6-8 mixed is verrrrrrrrrrry negligibly, if at all, inconvenient for the masses. And since chareidim do make up a large portion of the city, there is no reason in the name of democracy that part of the train can’t be alloted the way they feel comfortable….

  6. Next thing you will want is all male smoking, all male non smoking, all female smoking, all female non smoking. Where does it end? It’s time to learn to live in the real world.

Leave a Reply to Sheldon Cancel reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here