From the Liveblog of
Thursday, October 30, 2025
Haredi MKs blast Israel Railways for stopping service ahead of anti-conscription rally
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers slam Israel Railways for shutting down the Jerusalem Navon train station during this afternoon’s mass anti-conscription prayer rally in the nation’s capital, turning to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Transportation Minister Miri Regev in an effort to reverse the decision.
In a statement, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party says that chairman Aryeh Deri contacted the railroad company regarding its “scandalous” decision, only to be told that it had been a directive from the Israel Police, leading him to appeal directly to Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees law enforcement.
“Such a decision will cause tens of thousands to be stuck across the country and block intersections. It is an illegitimate decision that will prevent a huge public from coming and praying. Ben Gvir has pledged to act immediately to find a solution,” Deri says.
In a separate statement on Wednesday evening, United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler says he appealed to both Ben Gvir and Regev, asking them “not to cooperate with the persecutors of the Haredi public who seek to prevent the right to demonstrate tomorrow.”
“It should be remembered that during the mass demonstrations near the Knesset, the trains operated as usual and did not prevent any protester from coming and going whenever they wanted,” Eichler’s office says.
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