The Iron Sword War is manifested in growing tensions between Jews and Arabs. Those who pay a heavy price for this are the Arab bus drivers, to whom great anger is directed by Jewish passengers over the atrocities of terror at the hands of Hamas.
Watch the documentation: Wave of attacks on Arab bus drivers in Jerusalem // Power to the workers
In recent days there has been an alarming wave of attacks on Arab bus drivers on the route leading to and from Jerusalem. The driver of Electra Afikim on bus 164 Ma'ale Adumim was sprayed with gas by passengers. The passengers got on the bus, asked the driver where he was from, and when they realized he was an Arab, they sprayed him. As a result of the attack, the bus got stuck in a utility pole. The driver sustained minor injuries. There were no casualties among the passengers.
The transport union in the union Power for Workers warns, "The writing is on the wall. The murder of a driver is a matter of time, followed by the ignition of another violent sector." The organization calls on the Ministry of Transport to adopt the organization's outline for dealing with violence.
Another Superbus driver was attacked on bus number 72 on Hebron Road. Passengers who identified the driver as Arab attacked the same shouting "terrorist" and broke the driver's partition. In another incident, near the Ramot Mall, a taxi driver pulled a gun at an Electra Afikim driver. There was a minor accident between the taxi and the bus, and when the bus driver asked to collect details, the taxi driver pulled out a gun at him. The bus driver got on the bus and fled.
Taxi driver pulls out a gun in front of an Arab bus driver, photo: Power to the workers
Itai Cohen, Head of Transport at Force for Workers: "We warned yesterday in a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Transport about an expected increase in violence against Arab drivers. After most drivers were afraid to go to work at the beginning of the war, the economic need is pushing drivers to return, and that's a good thing, but at the same time the potential for violent attacks increases.
"Unfortunately, the Transportation Ministry has not yet identified the severity of the situation and does not see the need for reassuring messages to passengers and securing drivers in places of friction. We do not intend to compromise - there is no compromise in the safety of public transport workers and passengers. It is inconceivable that a driver would be attacked because of his origin."
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