Tel Aviv mayor to boycott light rail opening ceremony to protest government

16 August 2023, 2:21 pm

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File: Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai speaks during a protest march as part of International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Tel Aviv, November 24, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai says he will boycott the opening ceremony of the Tel Aviv light rail tomorrow in protest of the government.

“This is my protest,” says Huldai, noting that Transportation Minister Miri Regev only invited him this morning.

Huldai says he will nevertheless be among the first passengers when the Red Line, which stretches over 34 stations from Bat Yam to Petah Tikvah, officially opens to the public on Friday.

Huldai calls the opening historic and says he has waited for this day for 23 years. He also reiterates his call for the light rail to operate on the Sabbath, “as it should in a liberal and democratic country.”