Arab bus driver threatened to murder an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva student over nationalist motives

November 28, 2024   

A bus driver for the Kavim company, a resident of the Shuafat neighborhood in East Jerusalem, attacked an ultra-Orthodox teenager while traveling. Jerusalem wants mountain air: Plan to reduce air pollution from transportation When all the passengers had gotten off and there was no one left but the two of them, the yeshiva student asked to get off at the last stop. In response, the driver shouted at him and even cursed him blatantly, along with threats of a nationalistic nature. The serious incident occurred in the evening hours on an intercity bus from Jerusalem to Modi'in Illit - three days after the pogrom against Israelis in the Netherlands. The driver even threatened the yeshiva student: "I will murder you, what we do to you will be small compared to what we did in Amsterdam." In addition to the verbal attack, when the boy got off the bus, the driver, with a wild step, maliciously closed the bus doors on him, causing him bodily injuries.

Documenting the attack through the bus doors | From the security cameras

Rafael, the yeshiva student who was attacked, told Channel 14 about his difficult feelings: "I had the feeling that in a moment he would shoot you and come to kill you." He added that this is a widespread phenomenon that must be addressed. "Arab drivers attack passengers on nationalistic grounds, they slam doors on people, they drive like crazy." In response to Channel 14's question about whether the attacking driver was fired or punished, Kavim replied: "Since a complaint was filed with the police and the person being attacked is represented by a lawyer, the company will address the matter, if necessary, in the usual ways." Kavim did not comment on what procedures will be taken to prevent a similar incident in the future.

The attack is documented as the boy gets off the security camera.

Attorney Yechiel Vaknin, who represents the boy, tells Haredim 10: "This is a serious case of violence on a nationalistic basis by a bus driver in a company supervised and subsidized by the State of Israel. It should be emphasized that this case is not isolated, and additional cases of abusive behavior by drivers come to my desk." He noted that "Section 416 of the Traffic Regulations defines the standard of conduct for public transportation drivers: The driver and the conductor and other service employees shall behave toward passengers with courtesy and politeness. The driver and the conductor shall act in a manner that ensures that the passengers reach their destination comfortably, quickly and safely. "The driver's aggressive, violent and savage behavior certainly cannot be considered polite and courteous behavior." The lawyer added: "Since the incident, the boy has been traumatized and afraid to use public transportation. "In this case, we will work to maximize the teenager's rights and to bring the offending driver to justice.".