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Tel Aviv’s long-awaited light rail system is finally opening. But not on Shabbat.
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The sounds of protest echoed and the ticket scanner malfunctioned as Israel’s transportation minister, Miri Regev, led a dry run for journalists of Tel Aviv’s long-awaited light rail on Wednesday.
The landmark project, which cost nearly $5 billion, promises to reshape the experience of commuting to Tel Aviv, or moving within it, for countless Israelis. The Red Line, whose route runs through Bat Yam, south of Tel Aviv, through Tel Aviv to Petah Tikva, will officially open to the public on Friday — eight years after construction began and two years after it was first set to open.
The country has changed in that time. Now, government ministers cannot make public appearances without drawing protests from Israelis who are upset about the eight-month-old coalition’s efforts to limit the power of the judiciary. Indeed, protesters gathered at Ehrlich Station on Jaffa’s main artery, Jerusalem Boulevard, ahead of Regev’s arrival, chanting, “The minister poses for photo ops while the country is collapsing.” Others followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his appearance at the official opening ceremony in Petah Tikva on Thursday.
Anti-overhaul activists protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before the opening ceremony of the light rail, in Petah Tikva, Aug. 17, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
For many residents, one of the key issues clouding the light rail’s inauguration is that it will not run on Shabbat. Regev’s predecessor, Merav Michaeli, had promised that the line would run on Friday evenings and all day Saturday — a rarity in a country where public transportation does not operate on Shabbat. (An exception is in Haifa, which has a large Arab population.)
Michaeli’s promise had prompted outrage in the haredi Orthodox suburb of Bnei Brak, which has several stops on its route. Earlier this month, Regev announced that she was reversing Michaeli’s decision.
“We will uphold the status quo, according to which the train will not operate on Shabbat. For non-religious people, Shabbat is also a day of rest. And this is a Jewish state,” Regev told journalists on Wednesday.
As it stands, the line will operate for only 45 minutes on Saturday evenings, a shorter period than Jerusalem operates its light-rail system.
Miri Regev, Israel’s transportation minister, hosts a test drive of the new Metropolitan Light Rail in Jaffa-Tel Aviv, Aug. 16, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai skipped the opening ceremony over the Shabbat decision. Now, some critics of the government decision say they plan to boycott the train line altogether until it operates on Shabbat.
Ziv Forshtat, one of the people protesting Michaeli during the dry run, said he thought the limited service had to do with the massive anti-government demonstrations that take place after Shabbat ends each week at Kaplan Square, which is adjacent to one of the light-rail stations.
“They don’t want to make it easier for people to come to Kaplan for the protests,” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Forshtat said he thought it was important that Israelis who have protested the right-wing government’s judiciary legislation should add the issue of transportation on Shabbat to their agenda.
“It’s a situation that has been tolerated until now,” Forshtat said. “But now that we’re seeing the belt tightened in other areas with this government, it’s time to put our foot down on this issue also.”
The other six days of the week, the new train line will ease for many Israelis what can be a complicated, congested journey to and through Tel Aviv. Traveling into the center of the city from either of the terminuses of the train line can take up to an hour by bus; driving by car, which not all Israelis can do, comes with a hefty price tag for parking — if a spot can even be found. Now, it will take just minutes to traverse the same distance. Areas served by the new train line are expected to become more desirable for people seeking to beat the city’s high rents.
“Whatever the problems, whatever the ‘could-have-been’s, this light rail line is a tremendous improvement over the status quo. On my route, this train line — warts and all — saves one to two hours a day,” said Owen Alterman, who works as a senior correspondent at the i24NEWS television channel. Because of poor eyesight, Alterman cannot drive and uses public transportation to get to and from the channel’s studios.
Work is underway on two additional lines that will triple the area served by light rail; those lines are for now scheduled to be completed in 2026 and 2028. The entire project will ultimately include 139 stations in 14 cities.
View of the new Metropolitan Light Rail station in Tel Aviv, Aug. 16, 2023 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The 34 stations on the Red Line are gleaming in advance of the first day of operations on Friday. Unlike in Jerusalem, where a new light rail system operated fare-free for four months after the first line opened in 2011, the Tel Aviv system will start collecting fares on Saturday night. Trips within Tel Aviv will cost 5 shekels, or about $1.30, and longer trips will cost just over $3.
Some local residents had hoped that Tel Aviv would follow Jerusalem’s example and offer free rides as compensation for construction upheaval.
“After shutting down the main traffic arteries in Jaffa for four years, putting countless stores out of business and making traffic impossible in the area, the least they could offer is more than one free day,” Bracha Arnold, a Jaffa resident, told JTA.
Regev did not offer details about the transportation ministry’s decision making. “We decided that it would be one day,” she said. “From Saturday we will start validating tickets.”
How smoothly that happens remains to be seen. After Regev swiped a borrowed travel card, known as a Rav Kav, to pay a fare, the ticket barriers malfunctioned and remained closed.
“Let’s hope this gets fixed by Saturday night,” she said.
Other potential challenges loom. The train has the capacity to hold 440 passengers, but Tevel, the company that operates the line, anticipates that demand will be higher. By September, when operations normalize, the company projects demand to stand at 600 to 700 passengers per train.
The gap worries both Amiram Ohion, CEO of Tevel, the company that operates the Red Line, and Haim Glick, CEO of the government-owned mass transit agency.
“We have a passenger forecast for the route, but it is based on buses, which is a whole different world of public transportation,” Ohion said, adding that vehicle owners who traditionally shun buses may in fact choose to ride the light rail.
According to Ohio, the project was fraught with complexities, not least because it is one of only a handful of light rail systems in the world that runs both above and below ground. Ten of the 34 stations on the Red Line are subterranean, and the train runs more quickly between them.
Glick said more than 300 attendants would be deployed to assist in navigating commuters and prevent crushes.
“We also hope that the public will start acting like Europeans,” he said, noting that European capitals like London and Paris that have very busy train systems are “organized” nonetheless.
“We want people on the platform to wait for passengers to get off the train first before they try to get on.”
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Violating US Law, Palestinian Authority Brags That It’s Responsible for ICC Arrest Warrants
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan speaks during an interview with Reuters in The Hague, Netherlands, Feb. 12, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw
US law prohibits the Palestinian Authority (PA) from receiving aid from the Economic Support Fund if it works with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Israel.
Nevertheless, the PA, which has been receiving hundreds of millions of dollars of US aid in recent years through multiple channels, played a leading role in the ICC’s case against Israel, and is now bragging about it:
International law researcher Jihad Al-Harazin: “We are beginning to see the fruits of the political, legal, and diplomatic efforts that the Palestinian leadership has undertaken over many years.
Since Palestine joined the ICC, it has been submitting daily requests to the ICC Prosecutor … about everything happening on Palestinian soil … We had to join this court, and our membership did not come out of a vacuum rather from extensive diplomatic efforts, led particularly by President Mahmoud Abbas …
From this, a brilliant political vision emerged that would force the occupation’s leaders to be brought before the most important international body for justice, the ICC, so they would be held accountable for their crimes. This leads us to appreciate the foresight and wisdom of President Mahmoud Abbas’ vision when he decided to join the ICC. [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, From the Capitals, November 25, 2024]
Al-Harazin’s lauding of Mahmoud Abbas’ wisdom follows a PA official announcement that it welcomes the ICC decision, and will continue to work to help the ICC in the case:
The State of Palestine Thursday welcomed the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former ‘Defense’ Minister Yoav Gallant …
It affirmed that it would continue to engage with international justice institutions and courts until all criminals who committed and are still committing crimes against the Palestinian people are held accountable to ensure justice and fairness to Palestinians. [emphasis added]
[WAFA, official PA news agency, English edition, Nov. 21, 2024]
Both the official statement and Al-Harazin’s bragging follow an admission by another official that the PA is actively participating in the ICC case against Israel:
Director of PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs Qadura Fares: “We in the [PLO] Commission of Prisoners’ [Affairs] and the [PA-funded] Prisoners’ Club, are documenting all the crimes.
We are cooperating with the committee that was established by decision of [PA] President [Abbas], a professional committee led by [PA] Attorney General Akram Al-Khatib. It is documenting the appropriate testimonies according to the required criteria so that these testimonies will be accepted before the ICC … [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, Nov. 14, 2024]
American law is very clear about prohibiting the PA from receiving anything from the Economic Support Fund if it helps the ICC.
The 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act states:
None of the funds appropriated under the heading “Economic Support Fund” in this Act may be made available for assistance for the Palestinian Authority, if after the date of enactment of this Act … the Palestinians initiate an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation, or actively support such an investigation, that subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes against Palestinians.”
Palestinian Media Watch already exposed in May 2021 how Jamil Sajadiyeh, the director of the PA Attorney’s Office for International Legal Cooperation, described the intensive PA-ICC cooperation:
Head of the PA Attorney’s Office for International Legal Cooperation Jamil Sajadiyeh: “There are efforts that have been made with or planned through joint meetings with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Around 80 meetings have been held between Palestine and the ICC, of course with the office of ICC General Prosecutor [Fatou Bensouda]. There are nearly 60 cases and letters that have been submitted, all of them telling about the Israeli violations. Monthly reports are being submitted to the ICC via the general prosecutor through the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs. .. Palestine has submitted all it can in order to carry out these investigations … according to the instructions of His Honor President [Abbas] and all the relevant parties.” [emphasis added]
[Official Palestinian Authority TV, May 25, 2021]
The PA has been gloating over its achievements at the ICC and taking credit throughout the process. In May, when the ICC prosecutor submitted the requests for the arrest warrants, a Fatah official declared:
Fatah Jenin Branch member Nasri Hamamreh: “The political and diplomatic efforts … reached their height upon the achievement of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision. We as the Palestinian people view this as an achievement that can be added to a series of accumulated achievements
… It is an achievement for the wise leader of the Palestinian people [Mahmoud Abbas] who thinks of every way possible to bolster the Palestinian people’s resilience and to push the Israeli occupation into a corner, and to expose it, to expose its true ugly face to all the nations of the world.” [emphasis added]
[Official PA TV, May 21, 2024]
Tayseer Nasrallah, a member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council who also said earlier this year that the ICC decision was a fruit of PA labor, now exclaimed that Palestinians were “living in a state of euphoria and joy” over the decision:
Fatah Revolutionary Council member Tayseer Nasrallah: “A courageous decision was made by the International Criminal Court, and we welcome their taking this position. We also welcome the countries that immediately acceded [to the warrant], especially the member states of the International Criminal Court.
Indeed, we are now living in a state of euphoria and joy that the world has begun to see this entity as a terrorist, criminal, and spurned entity that is in a state of isolation, with everyone acting against it. Netanyahu, Gallant, and the entire criminal gang who are still committing genocide and starvation against our people in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon cannot leave [the country].”
[Official PA TV, November 24, 2024]
The PA is in good company, as Hamas also welcomed the decision:
Hamas Movement Political Bureau member Izzat Al-Rishq said that regardless of whether there is a possibility of implementing the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision, the truth that was revealed is that international justice is on our side and is against the Zionist entity. In a press release, Al-Rishq said: ‘This growing awareness and the exposure of the true terrorist face of the occupying entity (i.e., Israel) serves the Palestinian interest, the future of our cause, and our goal – liberation that will necessarily come, Allah willing.’ [emphasis added]
[Palestinian Information Center website (Hamas), Nov. 21, 2024]
Since the PA has indeed been actively and vigorously supporting the ICC’s case against Israel, it has been making a mockery of American wishes and legislation. It will only have itself to blame if and when the US government abides by the letter and intent of American law, and cuts off funding.
Ephraim D. Tepler is a contributor to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Itamar Marcus is PMW’s Founder and Director. A version of this article was originally published by PMW.
The post Violating US Law, Palestinian Authority Brags That It’s Responsible for ICC Arrest Warrants first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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BBC Silent as Journalists Urged to ‘Wear Keffiyeh to Work’ for Palestinian ‘Solidarity’ Day
The BBC logo is seen at the entrance at Broadcasting House, the BBC headquarters in central London. Photo by Vuk Valcic / SOPA Images/Sipa USA.
“Wear something red, green, black, or a Palestinian keffiyeh to visibly show solidarity.”
That’s the work attire directive from the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the UK’s largest umbrella group representing 48 trade unions and over 5.5 million workers, for the so-called “day of action” on November 28.
Among the unions endorsing this call — described by a BBC journalist as a “shocking attack on Jews” — is the National Union of Journalists (NUJ). This is the same NUJ that claims to be the “voice for journalism and journalists in the UK and Ireland” and represents tens of thousands of journalists, including many senior BBC staff.
Tomorrow, the UK’s National Union of Journalists is encouraging its members to “wear something red, green, black or a Palestinian keffiyeh to visibly show solidarity” with Palestinians.
So much for objective reporting on Israel from British journalists.https://t.co/0Q1mYThgxw pic.twitter.com/p6aFittRgO
— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) November 27, 2024
In its statement, the NUJ announced it was participating in the action, citing “records [that] show at least 135 Palestinian journalists have been killed since October 7, 2023.” The union further accused the Israeli government of “attacks and killings of journalists.”
The statement’s glaring omission of the events of October 7, 2023, is both striking and deliberate. That was the day that Hamas launched a murderous rampage into Israel, killing approximately 1,000 civilians, including journalists.
Yet the NUJ’s narrative erases the context of the massacre that ignited the current conflict in Gaza, and fails to acknowledge the Israeli journalists killed by Hamas terrorists.
This selective reporting raises another critical question: how many of the “135 Palestinian journalists” cited by the NUJ were directly involved in Hamas’ atrocities on October 7?
And how many of these people were propagandists working for Hamas-backed outlets such as Al-Aqsa TV or the pro-terror mouthpiece Al Jazeera, rather than legitimate journalists?
The NUJ’s decision to back this so-called “solidarity” campaign also blatantly violates its own code of conduct, specifically relating to material “likely to lead to hatred or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age, gender, race, colour, creed, legal status, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation.”
Apparently, these rules don’t extend to protecting Jews or Israelis.
Even more troubling is the NUJ’s membership roster, which includes hundreds of BBC journalists. These individuals are now being encouraged to display open support for Palestinians — a move that flagrantly violates the BBC’s impartiality guidelines.
One BBC journalist, speaking anonymously to The Times, described the NUJ’s actions as “hypocritical and antisemitic” and a “shocking attack on Jews.” The employee noted that the move would prompt them to reconsider their membership in the union.
“BBC journalists, who pride themselves on impartiality and who fought to keep their NUJ free of politics, are being encouraged to break the BBC’s editorial guidelines by supporting a political cause,” they said. “Where is the day of action to support the journalists being killed by their own governments across the Middle East, including by Hamas?”
Another BBC staffer shared their unease, saying they were “dreading the thought of walking past anyone protesting at work.”
True to form, the BBC has refused to condemn the NUJ’s attempt to politicize its newsroom. Instead, it has opted for the spineless silence that it has become infamous for.
By saying nothing, the BBC is effectively abandoning its pretense of impartiality, allowing its Jewish employees to feel intimidated, and continuing its descent into becoming a battleground for political ideologies.
Funded by the wallets of British taxpayers, the BBC carries a great responsibility. It is not financed exclusively by pro-Palestinian activists or left-wing ideologues, but by everyone in the UK: Men and women, white and black, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and everyone else.
Polling consistently reflects this diversity of opinion, showing the British public does not overwhelmingly back the Palestinian cause; in fact, the opposite is often true.
The BBC faced its most intense criticism yet when it was found to have breached its own guidelines in reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict more than 1,500 times since the war began.
That scandal, which emerged in September, should have been the wake-up call the BBC desperately needed.
Instead, the organization seems intent on signing its own death warrant. If the BBC continues alienating the very people who pay for its existence, it will not survive.
Meanwhile, the NUJ’s blatant pro-Palestinian advocacy calls into question how its members can possibly reconcile the need for professional, objective journalism with the actions of their trade union.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
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Rabbinical Council of America Slams Canada’s Trudeau for Agreeing to Comply With ICC Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Blair Gable
The Rabbinical Council of America, one of the world’s largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis, has penned a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, slamming the leader over his promise to comply with the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant.
In the letter dated Monday, the council expressed “profound outrage and disappointment regarding your recent statement that Canada will comply with the ICC indictment of democratically elected leaders of Israel, who stand accused of crimes against humanity.”
“This decision reflects a deeply troubling moral inversion, legitimizing a politicized institution increasingly marked by bias rather than a commitment to impartial justice,” the letter continued.
The council added that Trudeau’s backing of the ICC decision “tarnishes [Canada’s] reputation as a nation committed to human rights and democracy,” stating that support for the “antisemitic” ruling represents a “betrayal” to Jews within Canada and across the world.
The Hague-based ICC issued arrest warrants last week for Netanyahu, Gallant, and a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri (better known as Mohammad Deif) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.
Israeli leaders have lambasted the ICC’s decision to issue warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant as “antisemitic” and politically motivated, calling the allegations false and absurd. US lawmakers have said they intend to push legislation to sanction the ICC over its move.
This week’s letter from the rabbinical council said that its members were “deeply alarmed” by recent anti-Israel protests in Montreal, which included an “effigy” of Netanyahu” being set on fire. Though Trudeau condemned the demonstration, the council claimed that the Canadian government has exhibited a pattern of “selective enforcement” regarding hate speech laws. The group also urged the Canadian leader to take decisive action against Iran, citing the Iranian regime’s recent attempted assassination of former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler.
Following the ICC ruling, Trudeau confirmed that Canada would comply with the decision and arrest Netanyahu if he arrived on Canadian soil.
“We stand up for international law, and we will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international courts,” Trudeau said during a press conference last week. “This is just who we are as Canadians.”
The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel as it is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, which established the court. Other countries including the US have similarly not signed the ICC charter. However, the ICC has asserted jurisdiction by accepting “Palestine” as a signatory in 2015, despite no such state being recognized under international law.
In the year following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7, Canada has been rocked with protests condemning the Jewish state. Last Thursday, for example, more than 85,000 Quebec students participated in a “strike for Gaza” to demand their universities divest from Israel. The demonstration quickly escalated into violence, with students engaging in vandalism. Trudeau issued a statement condemning the protests as “acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence.”
Though Trudeau has repeatedly condemned the Oct. 7 slaughters and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself, he has also implemented arms restrictions on the Jewish state. Earlier this year, Canada canceled 30 arms exports permits for Israel.
Meanwhile, over the past year, Jews have endured a rising tide of antisemitism and targeted violence in Canada. In 2023, Jews were the victims of 78 percent of religious-based hate crimes in Toronto, according to police-reported data.Overall in Canada, Jewish Canadians were the most frequently targeted group for hate crimes, with a 71 percent increase from the prior year.
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