TEL AVIV, Israel - Tel Aviv has taken a major step to cement its status as Israel’s secular mecca, launching public transportation services on the Jewish sabbath and redrawing the lines in the country’s culture wars between religious and secular citizens. But in Tel Aviv, the country’s economic and cultural hub, the Sabbath takes on a different hue. Since the days before Israel’s foundation, most of the country hasn’t been served by public transportation on Saturdays, aside from Arab communities as well as mixed Jewish-Arab cities such as Haifa. “We as a city needed to play a trick,” said Meital Lehavi, a Tel Aviv deputy mayor in charge of transport. “Just as I respect other people’s freedoms, I cherish my own freedoms and I want to be allowed to travel,” said Avigail Pekelman, a Tel Aviv resident.

Source: thestar November 29, 2019 06:56 UTC