Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Implores Tel Aviv Mayor Not to Operate Buses on Shabbat

Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau expressed "pain and disappointment" in a resolution by the Tel Aviv-Jaffa city council seeking permission to operate public transportation on Shabbat.

In a letter to Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai pleading with him to reverse the council's decision, Lau wrote "This decision harms the history of Tel Aviv, which was founded 103 years ago as the first Hebrew city," and Lau wrote in a statement.  Lau said he was writing in the name of the thousands of people who keep Shabbat who supported his election."