Did bus drivers in London refuse to bring Jewish students on?
Police in the British capital are investigating two complaints. In the first case, several Jewish schoolchildren waited for a bus in Stamprod Hill in the north of the city and signaled the oncoming driver to stop. The driver slowed down, approached the station, but suddenly continued on his way.
Pro-Palestinian demonstration in London, last month | Reuters
According to testimonies obtained by police, several passengers on the bus called on the slowing driver not to stop and made antisemitic remarks. Then they thanked him for skipping the station. The incident was reported to Shomrim, the security organization of the Jewish community. London police learned about him from one of the passengers on the bus who felt "frightened, threatened and shaken".
The second incident occurred three days later. A 13-year-old Jewish girl was waiting for the bus in Hackney, and she too encountered a similar pattern: the bus slowed down towards the station, but suddenly accelerated and drove off.
Transport for London (TfL) told The Independent that the complaints were being investigated with the utmost severity. "We will not tolerate any form of discrimination in our network," it said.
Since the Hamas attacks on October 7, the number of antisemitic incidents in London alone has jumped by more than 1,300%. The capital has also seen huge pro-Palestinian demonstrations. A poll published last week found that half of British Jews had considered leaving the UK due to the proliferation of hatred.
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