Not on weekends (Illustration)
צילום: סבסטיאן שיינר
Petition: Let Arab driving instructors work on Shabbat
Adalah says motivation behind placing of signs prohibiting driving lessons in northern city on Shabbat, Jewish holidays 'racist', as surrounding Arab towns lack adequate infrastructure, have no road signs or traffic lights
Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – filed a petition with the Haifa District Court on Tuesday against the city of Carmiel's decision to prohibit drivers ed lessons on Jewish holidays and Shabbat.
Signs informing driving instructors of the restriction were placed at the entrances to the city, which is surrounded by dozens of Arab towns and villages. The Arab driving instructors prefer to hold the lessons in Carmiel as their students' driving tests are held there.
"The Arab communities lack adequate infrastructure to hold driving lessons; there are no traffic lights or road signs – and therefore (the Arab driving instructors) must be allowed to give lessons in Carmiel," according to the petition.
"The restriction constitutes an infringement of the freedom of movement and vocation, and the motivation behind the initiative reeks of racism," Adalah said.
Arab driving instructors found the decision to place signs in Carmiel's industrial zone particularly baffling. "This area is busy and crowded on Saturdays, so it is clear that the restriction on holding driving lessons here does not stem from religious concerns, therefore it must be based on racism," an Arab driving teacher said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if (Jewish) driving instructors from Carmiel who do not want competition from the Arab instructors had something to do with the decision."
Carmiel City spokeswoman Leviya Fisher-Shalev said that "the signs merely asks that the driving instructors take the residents' feelings into consideration. No one is enforcing the request – neither the police nor the municipality. The signs are situated at the entrances to Carmiel and the industrial zone."
Adalah said in response to the spokeswoman's comment that the signs were placed in accordance with the Transportation Ministry's official ordinances, adding that an Arab driving instructor was prosecuted for holding a lesson in the city on Saturday.
