(Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Tensions in the coalition around the railway works on Saturday: the political commentator Mati Tuchfeld describes today (Friday) in his column in the newspaper Israel Hayom the shouts of the Prime Minister Minister of Housing.
Tuchfeld describes that when Goldknopf entered the cabinet meeting, Netanyahu began to raise his voice and hurl harsh words at him, which astonished those present. “Why are you posting about the fact that you wrote a letter against the work on Shabbat?!” Netanyahu shouted.
“Can’t you talk to me? Talk to Minister Regev? I remind you that you are no longer the chairman of the committee for Shabbat, but a minister in Israel! You are part of the leadership and the decision makers, not the letter writers and the complainers!”
Netanyahu, those present say, is really furious. “You give weapons to the coalition’s enemies!”, he slammed him. Goldknopf, Tuchfeld describes, was mostly silent and looked embarrassed.
As I recall, Goldknopf wrote to the Minister of Transportation Miri Regev that “it was brought to my attention that work is being carried out on Shabbat by Israel Railways, on the Tel Aviv railway between Rokah Interchange and Halacha Interchange, which do not meet the definition of supervision.”
“As far as I understand,” he writes, “these works are the result of agreements signed by previous governments.”
In the letter, which was also sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz, Economy Minister Nir Barkat, the heads of the coalition parties and Deputy Minister of Transportation Uri Makleb, the Minister of Housing states that “in the coalition documents signed between the Likud and Torah Judaism parties, it was agreed that works These will be stopped.”
“We cannot put up with the continuation of this situation,” he threatens, “and I request your urgent intervention in this matter in order to cancel the aforementioned agreements.”
Later, Regev instructed Israel Railways senior officials to prepare a plan by the end of the week to reduce train work on Shabbat, to prevent desecration of Shabbat as much as possible.