Transportation Min. to pay hundreds of thousands to provide buses to ultra-Orthodox wedding

The Transportation Ministry agreed to a request by Admor Rabbi Magor to increase the amount of buses in ultra-Orthodox cities in Israel on the day of his grandson's wedding, which will cost the state hundreds of thousands of shekels, according to a report by N12 news on Sunday.

האדמו"ר מגור ביקש - משרד התחבורה יתגבר עשרות אוטובוסים לחתונה של הנכד מתקציב המדינה - בעלות מוערכת של מאות אלפי שקליםhttps://t.co/ia4cYYGmS5 pic.twitter.com/tXkGO7jEEg

— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) March 10, 2024

According to the report, the request was approved following pressure from Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, whose assistant met with the Transportation Ministry and requested transportation be provided on the day of the wedding in areas with high ultra-Orthodox populations, such as Arad and Ashdod. 

The busses will allegedly be paid for by the Transportation Ministry's budget.

The report clarified that it is a large event, and the request would include dozens of busses, which is estimated to cost the state hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Conflicting reports dispute if the request has been approved or not

Ultra-Orthodox sources have confirmed that the request has been approved, according to the report, however the Public Transportation Authority has also stated that no request of that matter has been approved.

Growing tensions in the haredi community

This report comes after the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Yitzhak Yosef, threatened a mass exodus of haredim on Saturday, if a mandatory draft for haredim into IDF service would be passed.

Additionally there have been haredi protests in areas such as Jerusalem against a mandatory haredi draft.

Recently, opposition leader MK Yair Lapid said that "If the 66,00 draft-age haredi were to join the IDF, there wouldn't be a need to extend mandatory and reserve service length."