Jerusalem Light Rail System Back in Operation but Woes Pile Up

Jerusalem’s light rail system is back in operation for the first time since the “snowstorm of the century” shut it down and crippled the capital last Thursday, but the city’s problems are far from over.

Thousands of cars are blocked in by plowed snow, and pedestrians often walk in the middle of the street instead of on icy sidewalks, creating worse traffic jams than usual. However, the municipality’s parking police have no problem pounding the sidewalks to hand out parking tickets.

The entrance to Jerusalem from the Tel Aviv highway is heavily congested because of thousands of Israelis from “snowless” regions who have flocked to the city to get a glimpse of the white stuff, much of which now is black from car exhausts.

Parents are up in arms over a Jerusalem education official's request to school principals that students help clear snow so that all schools can open.

Nurses and other hospital staff have been working 12-hour shifts to ease the problem of transportation, especially in the late evening and early morning when streets are icy.