Litzman threatens to quit government over Shabbat train work

Health Minister Yaakov Litzman on Friday warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he would resign on Sunday if construction work on intercity train routes took place on the Jewish Sabbath this weekend.

Litzman, a member of Netanyahu’s coalition from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, said works on the rail lines “violated the sanctity of Shabbat,” and was contrary to the “status quo” of not working on the Jewish day of rest.

He told Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz at a Friday morning meeting that a resignation would mean that he would not vote in ministerial committee votes scheduled for Sunday.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Litzman intends to quit his position, or pull his entire party out of the coalition, a move that would threaten Netanyahu’s government.

Zionist Union MK Ksenia Svetlova was quick to criticize Litzman over his threat, accusing ultra-Orthodox lawmakers of selective outrage over social issues.

“Somehow these ministers never threaten to dismantle the coalition over poor government pensions, the housing crisis or public health care,” she tweeted. “Its strange.”

Israel Railways has undertaken a number of major projects in recent years including a new high-speed Tel Aviv-Jerusalem line and major upgrades to existing lines.

Officials say construction and maintenance work over the weekend helps avoid delays to the busy weekday schedule.

But the Shabbat work on the rail infrastructure has sparked a series of rows between Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties in his coalition, despite the prime minister agreeing to ban all weekend construction projects on train lines in a deal struck with the parties prior to the 2015 election.

Last year, ultra-Orthodox politicians threatened to topple the coalition if Shabbat work continued on the rail lines, causing an uproar among commuters suffering from massive traffic delays and cancellations after Netanyahu succumbed to the pressure and ordered the work stopped.

In June, ministers ceded to sustained pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism and canceled weekend work on train lines in southern Israel.

Netanyahu, Katz, Social Affairs and Social Services Minister Haim Katz and the heads of the ultra-Orthodox parties at the time agreed to call off the scheduled work in favor of maintaining the “status quo” of not working on Shabbat.