Attorney Haim Bleicher of Mhonenu sent the Police Department a demand to investigate police officers who, in the dead of night, several months ago, took dozens of ultra-Orthodox passengers off a bus near the Golani Junction, ordered the bus driver to drive away - and left the passengers on the side of the road, despite their request not to abandon them.
The passengers were forced to continue their journey with the help of hitchhikers - and a bus driver who passed by and picked them up at their destination.
In his letter, Attorney Bleicher describes the incident: "On October 20, 2025, at approximately 1:30 a.m., a police car was called to the Golani Junction at the request of a Superbus bus driver following a report of a passenger smoking an electronic cigarette inside the bus. Upon their arrival, and instead of dealing with the incident at the scene, the police ordered all of the bus passengers, approximately 40 passengers, to immediately get off the bus at an isolated stop on an intercity road, and instructed the driver to continue his journey without them.
""The passengers, including my client, begged the police not to abandon them late at night on a dark road, without any transportation alternative, but the police showed complete indifference and ignored the tangible danger to public safety.".
Video: Courtesy of the cameraman
""My client turned to the police in bewilderment and asked: 'Are you normal?' In response, and without any legal reason, one of the police officers grabbed my client by the hand, dragged him forcibly to the car and informed him of his arrest for 'insulting a public servant.' My client was released only after he was forced to apologize under pressure and distress. The police officers left the scene, leaving dozens of passengers at a loss.".
Bleicher emphasizes that the police officers and the bus driver are members of minorities and that they may have acted out of a racist motive: "It should be noted that all of the passengers belong to the Haredi sector, while the police officers and the driver are members of minorities. The circumstances of the case raise serious suspicion that the police officers saw the passengers as a group that could be abused and their lives endangered solely because of their sectoral identity.
""The severity of the incident and the collective decision to punish dozens of innocent passengers indicates improper discrimination and a racist-antisemitic motive, contrary to the fundamental values of the Israel Police.".
Attorney Bleicher says: "This is a life-threatening collective punishment with complete indifference towards people and their plight, which expresses a dark, racist and anti-Semitic motive of those suspected police officers towards the sector to which the bus passengers belong. We demand that those police officers who acted in this way be brought to justice, and at the same time, the State of Israel and its citizens should take stock - how did we get to a situation where those suspects allow themselves to harm that public of passengers so severely without fear of being held accountable?""
The Israel Police stated:
After police were called to the scene by a bus driver who alleged disorder inside and outside the bus, officers spotted a group of people lying in front of the bus, lighting a fire nearby, and playing loud music.
The police acted decisively, stopped the disturbance and allowed the driver to continue his journey safely.
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