Shachar Hillel launches a Shabbat-proof scooter

You can now travel to synagogue on Shabbat and the High Holy Days without breaking Jewish law thanks to a unique mobility scooter launched in Israel and now available in the UK.

Shachar Hillel is the marketing manager of Afikim Electric Vehicles, which develops and manufactures advanced, electrically-powered mobility scooters.

They have teamed up with high-tech organisation Zomet to create a special scooter which is compliant with halachah, enabling the owner to operate the vehicle during Shabbat and Jewish holidays.

Mr Shachar, 45, tells People: "You don't need to start the ignition to use it." The scooter uses a separate circuit board which results in steady acceleration with no activation required by the user. It starts by itself, with a delayed reaction, once someone sits on it. He says: "We launched in Israel and saw that there was a demand elsewhere. It's for less able people who want to go to synagogue on Shabbat and the Jewish holidays."