In a bid to win secular votes, the Hitorerut party in the Jerusalem City Council is preparing for the upcoming municipal elections by the trampling of religious values – launching a shuttle service on Shabbos in Ir HaKodesh. The shuttle service, which will be funded by the party, is scheduled to begin this Shabbos, transporting residents within the city and even to Tel Aviv. The move follows a previous appeal to secular voters in June, when left-wing Jerusalem City Council candidates joined the Women of the Wall group on Rosh Chodesh and avowed their commitment to “religious freedom.” On Monday, Hitorerut published a post on its social media pages saying: “In the Jerusalem of Hitorerut, there’s room for Shabbat for everyone…We don’t want to live in a city where young people leave and we don’t want a city that is closed to everyone on weekends… Public transportation on Shabbat is also a way of saying that there’s a sector that isn’t Shomer Shabbat and wants to remain Yerushalmi. And live here.” “Anyone who wants a Jerusalem with a Zionist Jewish character needs to gather courage – that’s the only way we’ll finally be able to have a Shabbat Shalom for all of us. Join us on the Hitorerut weekend bus – a first-of-its-kind concept in Jerusalem that makes transportation available on Shabbat – for anyone interested in it.” B’Chadrei Chareidim made inquiries on the matter and discovered that the Jerusalem Municipality and the government don’t have the authority to prevent the Shabbos shuttle service since it will be privately funded. Last week, the National Unity party, headed by Benny Gantz, announced its support for the Hitorerut party in the upcoming elections. The party is headed by Adir Schwartz since the retirement of Ofer Berkovitch in November 2022. “For 15 years, the Hitorerut party has already represented the basic values advocated by the National Unity party,” Gantz stated. “Our support of the party ahead of the municipal elections is a natural partnership that aims to represent a broad electorate in Jerusalem.” As YWN readers may remember, Berkovitch, the former chairman of Hitorerut, ran for mayor of Jerusalem against Moshe Lion in 2018, and failed, largely due to the anti-religious stance he adopted in an overwhelmingly religious city, promising to end religious extortion and open Jerusalem businesses on Shabbos. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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