Katz has vigorously denied making the decision for political reasons.
By GIL HOFFMANIsrael Katz (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Transportation Minister Israel Katz’s decision to prohibit work on a walking bridge over Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Freeway on Shabbat was made for political and not professional reasons, a majority of Israelis believe, according to a new Panels Research poll taken for The Jerusalem Post’s Hebrew sister publication, Ma’ariv.Katz has vigorously denied making the decision for political reasons. He has said it was Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai – who is seeking a fifth term on October 30 – who expedited the bridge’s construction and inflamed tensions for political reasons.But the public doesn’t seem to be taking Katz’s side in the dispute.According to the poll, 56% said the decision was made for political reasons, 21% for professional reasons, and 23% said they did not know.Asked whether they supported Katz’s decision, 36% said yes, 49% said no, and 15% had no opinion on the matter.The public was divided along religious lines. Katz’s decision was supported by 84% of self-described haredim (ultra-Orthodox), 66% of the religious, 34% of the traditional and 16% of secular respondents.The poll of 537 respondents, representing a statistical sample of the adult Israeli population, was taken Thursday and had a margin of error of 4.4%.
