A secular Israeli bus driver assaulted an Orthodox-Jewish passenger and shouted “we must kill all the Dossim!” – a pejorative term used to refer to Haredim in Israel – after falsely accusing him of not having paid the bus fare. It was the third such attack in as many days.

Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Israel?

A secular Israeli bus driver assaulted an Orthodox-Jewish passenger and shouted “we must kill all the Dossim!” – a pejorative term used to refer to Haredim in Israel – after falsely accusing him of not having paid the bus fare. It was the third such attack in as many days.

From Yeshiva World News:

In a third recently-publicized attack against a chareidi, a driver cursed and shouted “kill the dossim”, a slang used to refer to chareidim in a negative light.

This latest incident occurred on Sunday night 30 Nissan when a ben torah boarding a 417 bus from Jerusalem to Beit Shemesh became the latest victim of anti-Chareidism when assaulted by the driver of the Egged bus. The boarding talmid yeshiva was heading back to his yeshiva. The driver refused to accept his ticket, calling him a thief.

The victim was interviewed by Chadrei Chareidim and is quoted saying “the ticket was valid and definitely usable but the driver refused to accept it. He called me a thief and all of this took place while he drove towards Beit Shemesh”.

The talmid, Shlomo, is quoted adding that when they arrived in Beit Shemesh the driver opened the door and requested that he get off the bus. “I told him I cannot get out in the middle, a place without a bus stop. The driver then said ‘We must kill all the dossim, disgusting chareidi, all the chareidim are thieves. From my perspective you have not paid’”.

Shlomo explains that he did not get off the bus but continued towards his Beit Shemesh destination while the driver continued to speak ill of chareidim. At Shimshon Junction he explains he felt threatened and decided to get off the bus. “The driver would not let me off and the driver said ‘You are captive in my hands now and you are not getting off’. The driver continued to another stop near Nahar HaYarden Street. He refused to continue, explaining there was a protest there. This was not so. When I tried to get off at the stop near Rashi Jct. the driver intentionally slammed on the brakes. I flew towards the front. The driver then claimed I tried to steal his money. He got out in anger and begin hitting me with his fists. He scratched my face. It hurt a bit. He grabbed my hat from my head and stepped on it repeatedly. It is a new hat that I bought for the new summer zman”.

Shlomo adds that there were about 15 passengers on the bus, some chareidim, who tried to calm the driver but to no avail. “When the driver realized I had summoned police he instructed everyone to get off, telling them another bus would come for them.

“As the chareidim were getting off the driver called to secular appearing people and asked them to verify his version of the events, to be witnesses for him and to tell police I started up with him. They refused. When police arrived he complained that I struck him. Police filed a number of complaints but refused to give me the numbers instructing me to go to the station and file a complaint. Only after pleading did the policeman agree to give me the complaint number”.

Shlomo then explained after police left the driver once again threatened him, saying “What I did to you till now was nothing. I should have smashed you”.

Egged declined comment, explaining the matter is under police investigation.

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