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Religion and Politics Collide, Grounding Israeli Train Line
Source: Associated Press
Religion and Politics Collide, Grounding Israeli Train Line
By DANIEL ESTRIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS JERUSALEM — Sep 4, 2016, 12:48 PM ET
Israeli commuters began their work week Sunday with massive traffic jams and a cancellation of train service along one of the country's busiest routes following a religious and political scuffle that had threatened to shake the governing coalition.
The crisis erupted over the weekend after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, made an 11th-hour decision to halt routine railway repairs scheduled on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
Orthodox Jewish law forbids work on the Sabbath, and a religious party in the coalition had threatened to quit the government unless Netanyahu halted the repairs.
Netanyahu's transport minister, Yisrael Katz, canceled a key train route on the Tel Aviv - Haifa line Sunday because of the delayed repairs. The government dispatched extra buses for some 90,000 affected commuters.
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By DANIEL ESTRIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS JERUSALEM — Sep 4, 2016, 12:48 PM ET
Israeli commuters began their work week Sunday with massive traffic jams and a cancellation of train service along one of the country's busiest routes following a religious and political scuffle that had threatened to shake the governing coalition.
The crisis erupted over the weekend after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, made an 11th-hour decision to halt routine railway repairs scheduled on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
Orthodox Jewish law forbids work on the Sabbath, and a religious party in the coalition had threatened to quit the government unless Netanyahu halted the repairs.
Netanyahu's transport minister, Yisrael Katz, canceled a key train route on the Tel Aviv - Haifa line Sunday because of the delayed repairs. The government dispatched extra buses for some 90,000 affected commuters.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/religion-politics-collide-grounding-israeli-train-line-41858355