The rabbonim of the Transportation Committee issued a notice
asking ladies, seminary students and Bais Yaakov girls to
closely adhere to halachic guidelines while using all public
transportation, even if it is not running as a Mehadrin
line.
According to the notice, more and more bus passengers are
following Mehadrin arrangements where men board via the front
door and sit toward the front of the bus while women use the
rear door and sit toward the rear. On routes that do not
offer separate boarding, women are urged to choose seats in
the rear section of the bus.
In addition to promoting modesty, adhering to this
arrangement will encourage bus companies to declare more
lines Mehadrin lines.
In another notice the Transportation Committee warns of a
spiritual danger deliberately caused by the Transportation
Ministry, which is planning to cancel the Mehadrin
arrangement on many bus routes in chareidi neighborhoods in
Jerusalem once the light-rail system begins operating. "In
our meeting with transportation experts we were notified that
as part of the plans to operate the light-rail system in
Jerusalem, the Transportation Ministry plans to cancel a
significant portion of the existing chareidi lines in
Jerusalem and to force the chareidi public in certain
neighborhoods to use light rail, and in other neighborhoods
to use standard bus lines," reads the Transportation
Committee notice.
"We have determined that the light-rail system is not suited
to meet the needs of the chareidi public, not from a physical
perspective and certainly not from a spiritual perspective,
and the plans to compel the chareidi public to use light rail
constitute a grave spiritual threat."
According to the committee, the Transportation Ministry plans
to reroute via Geula a number of lines that serve the general
public, which could impact the religious character of the
neighborhood.
The plan formulated by the Transportation Ministry and the
Jerusalem Municipality calls for central transit stations at
Mt. Herzl and Pisgat Ze'ev, which would force the chareidi
public to take neighborhood buses to these stations and from
there to board the light-rail trains to reach their
destination. For instance, Bayit Vegan and Neveh Yaakov
residents would have to take buses to the respective
stations, board a train for the downtown area and travel with
large numbers of secular passengers since many bus routes
would no longer be available.
Rabbonim say that the problem should be addressed now before
the light-rail system goes into operation, in order to
preclude the need for a public campaign to alter the planned
arrangements.
