Friday, September 2, 2016

Israeli Prime Minister Orders Railway Construction Work on Sabbath

Wonder how those in the COGs would feel about this story? Prime Minister Netanyahu recently ordered construction work on a railway line to proceed on the Sabbath against the strenuous opposition of religious parties.
Netanyahu says construction on Sabbath is tantamount to saving lives; Tel Aviv-Jerusalem high-speed rail project also sees closure of parts of Ayalon highway .... 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled Friday that construction work on a train station in Tel Aviv will go ahead this Shabbat, albeit on a reduced basis, despite objections from the religious parties in the coalition. Work on the Shalom station is part of construction on the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv high-speed train line. 
A statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that postponing the work was tantamount to endangering life, and that it could therefore go ahead on Shabbat. (Times of Israel, August 26, 2016.)
An internal Israel Rails document predicts that prohibiting work on new train lines on Shabbat will delay the project by years and cost tens of millions of shekels extra, Army Radio reveals. ... 
The document’s contents are confirmed by Israel Rails director Baoz Zafrir, who tells the station that “if there’s not work being done all the time we are ready, it will delay many projects.” (Times of Israel, August 29, 2016.) 

No comments:

Post a Comment