they should hire private buses for fanatics. It goes both ways. If people wish to go against the law to maintain the Jewish character of Israel, they should pay for/arrange a private bus service for heathens. :)

Just b/c there's such a thing as a Shabbat elevator does not mean that you can hop in a bus b/c a non-Jew is driving. There is such a thing as the spirit of the law, not just the letter. Everyone planning and coming and going and the resultant stores that would be open b/c of accessability, etc. General in the US Army tried that w/ my husband years ago...heard about this thing called a Shabbat elevator...so if that jeep out there just happens to start and you just happen to be on it..... as I said: a LITTLE knowledge is a dangerous thing. If you live it right you can feel how "off" that would be...like watching TV on Shabbat, etc. Not the "taam" of the day.

Get lost Ron Huldai ,it is tragic enough that folk in Israel bust their guts working six days a week without having to give up a day of rest the Sabbath .TAKE A HIKE HULDAI.

Thanks to the "reforms" initiated last year, we wait for buses throughout the week, never mind Saturdays. And the efforts to change things are just as lame. First give us a decent weekly service, then add the Saturday to it. Or do we really all have to buy cars and clog the roads even more?

without car or public transportation ?

Yes, a walk on Shabat can be lovely. So can visiting relatives or friends that live far away. So can going to the beach, sitting there, watching the waves. There are already some cities that have bus service on Shabat, yes? (Although they should not go through haredi areas) The next step to stopping all buses could be forcing people to go to the synagogue. Going to the synagogue, especially on Shabat, is wonderful, but only if you do it of your own free will. Much like not using public transportation on Shabat; only of your own free will.

With the separate seatings one group (Haredim) wants to impose their views and restrictions on the other group (Secular) by force. Whilst asking for buses on Shabbat does not impose any restrictions on Haredim at all. With the correct routing they might not even see them. And it does not even have to be more expensive on the budget because you can use the thousands of buses and train wagons; that just sit around every weekend and holidays, to make money buy selling tickets.

I can't understand how people want to live on a highly frequented road [ an example : Jabotinsky from my town to your ] I could buy an appartement i liked on such a street , but when i opened a window to have a look outside , i immediately changed my mind . It's the same as people who buy a house near Ben Gurion airport , and then complain about the noise .

the Tel Afek National Park at walking distance,then you have a point.

keeping Shabat should be only by free choice. It is just sad that the secular people don t see the benefit of a weekly day without trafic .

Buses on shabbos cool! to compel other citizens who are not religious to a day of no! public transport is anti!! Judaic and would not be the wish of G-d,and not only that over time it will !! deepen the chasm between Haredi and secular,so please all,the year is 2012 and the country where you all live is Israel,not!! a ghetto in some G-d forsaken state. So celebrate by making allowances for all !! the different groups and so peace can be had,within heart and mind. Shabbos Tov !! L!atem, should u be at Shul or Beach or Pool.

Can you count ? you gave only two !

Buses that are subsidised are those lines used by charidim . Bene Brak- Elad , Bene brak Jerusalem , Arad Jerusalem , and so on . The bus companies are also paid by the State for the soldiers . A private operator on Shabbat ? and what will he do the other days ? And he also need drivers .

This park is at 5-6 km in strait line . So certainly 7-8 km to walk . And , if i'm not wrong , you have to pay to visit . I prefer the sea shore , 14 km .

mathematics is not what it used to be.

There could be special shabbat routs in place of some weekday routs. 1. There are certain routs that would not be needed, the overwhelming majority do not work on shabbat for instance so many routs could change. 2. We all know that buses would never run through Charedi towns and neighborhoods, so those buses could be allocated elsewhere. There is a lot that could be done in order to make this work. Every sector would have to give something. The religious/traditional, which make up a majority in this country will not allow shabbat to become a free for all. Last my proposal would require a national referendum. If this issue is really about allowing people to move around and not about promoting sabbath desecration and weakening the Jewish nature of the state, than it would seem that my proposal would be a good one.

I hope your post #74 is in jest. "There are three kinds of people;those who can count and those who can not count." is a joke. Peace.

I agree that a day of no traffic can be pleasant. Although Yom Kippur is not a joyous holyday, I like the quiet in the streets. I know you will then ask 'why not once a week'? Answer: I prefer the option to go where I want. My question to you therefore is, "can you now understand why there should be public transport on Saturdays; so each is allowed to follow their own free will as to travel or not to travel on the Shabat?"

Shabat Shalom.

I read it before. Changing the day does not address the principle I am speaking of. On Shabat (not on Sunday, which in any case is a work day) people should be able to choose what to do and what not to do. Especially when it involves the essence of Shabat; to relax, be with friends, relatives, have a real day off. You dictate limitations on how everyone must do this by not allowing people to travel. I disagree with you on this. Shabat Shalom u’Vracha.

Tel Aviv should have a world Naked Bike Ride on the second Sabbath in June to protest oil dependency.

it was a suggestion.

It is semantics. I could have said that if your suggestion of Sunday as day of rest was authorized, this authorization would be a dictat.