We’ve seen major secular-religious clashes in Jerusalem this summer. Here’s a heads-up that over the coming weeks you may well be hearing about clashes in Tel Aviv.

They are likely to be angrier than past clashes. While in most past clashes, the secular side has been arguing against religious coercion and for public convenience, it looks like in the row brewing now in Tel Aviv, the secular case will be far more emotive — Sabbath desecration, it will be argued, saves lives.

This Friday afternoon in Tel Aviv, bars and cafes were busy with people enjoying the slightly cooler weather. Friday afternoon is a great time to go out, but by 6 p.m., anyone relying on buses to get home starts to head home. It may be city that never sleeps; but from Friday afternoon until nightfall on Saturday, all the buses take a 25-hour-plus nap.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Mayor Ron Huldai wants to introduce buses on the Sabbath. He’s apparently not motivated by a desire to secularize the city, but rather because of road safety statistics.

Friday night in Tel Aviv is party night, and with only one real weekend night — unlike in other countries, it’s back to work on Sunday so Saturday night isn’t good for partying — and people play hard and late. Too many drink and drive. According to municipality figures, on an a average Friday night in Tel Aviv in 2008 there were 36 accidents involving people aged 17 to 24 compared to 20-something accidents on other nights.

Huldai views introducing Friday night buses as a necessary move to save lives. The Haredim in his coalition on the city council strongly object, saying that the status quo on religion in the public sphere must be safeguarded.

There is, Huldai is likely to point out, a concept in Jewish law which allows transgression for the sake of saving life — pikuach nefesh. Orthodox Tel Avivians will argue that pikuach nefesh is not preventative, meaning that you can’t cite the principle and then do something that you think will save life in the long run — that it applies only to saving someone when they are in imminent danger.

If Huldai gives up, it will be seen as a Haredi victory and a branching out of Orthodox control to Tel Aviv. If he pushes ahead and the mainstream Orthodox don’t take up the fight, there are extremists who will — as discussed in this Forward article. Whatever happens, it looks like we’re in for a tense fall in Tel Aviv.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount