Group wants drones to check eruvs

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An organization in Israel wants to use unmanned aerial vehicles to check the national eruv in problematic spots.

The Shabbat Fund has placed a proposal on the table to purchase the UAVs at a cost of more than $6,000 a drone, the Hebrew language Beharedi Haredim website reported.

The drone could save manpower hours and get to hard-to-reach places such as farmland and privately owned lands in order to detect breaches in the eruv, according to the fund.

An eruv creates a boundary that allows observant Jews to carry items in public areas on Shabbat.

A member of the fund told Beharedi Haredim that it is still too early to “rejoice” at the prospect.

“We are still checking,” he said. “We have not seen yet the product, nor have we checked its efficacy.”