Kavim bus (illustrative purposes only) Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Thursday, April 27, 2023, 7:45 An Arab bus driver, working for Kavim Public Transportation Company, assaulted a Jewish driver on Route 431 near Modi’in in March. Honenu Attorney Chayim Bleicher, who is representing the Jewish driver, commented on the assault, “Time after time, we encounter Arab bus drivers committing violent acts against Jews. This violence is an extremely dangerous racist and is a nationalistic phenomenon. When public bus drivers are involved, the distance from such acts to strategically planned hostile ones is very short. We expect the police to decisively investigate this assault and other similar ones in order to eradicate the phenomenon before it spreads further.”
Moreover, Attorney Bleicher demanded that the police arrest the Arab bus driver. In a letter to the police, he wrote, “On March 6, 2023, at the entrance to Modi’in, an Arab Kavim Public Transportation bus driver unjustifiably assaulted my client. As my client was driving on Route 431, the bus driver, who was behind him, flashed his lights at him. When my client stopped at a traffic light, he saw the bus driver making a slitting gesture with his hand across his throat. My client got out of his car as he called the police and read to them the bus’s license-plate number. The bus driver got out of the bus and kicked the door of my client’s car. My client reported to the police what was happening in real-time. The bus driver then approached my client, punched him in the face twice, and hurried back to the bus.”
Attorney Bleicher further described the unfolding of events: “My client, who was in shock because of the [Arab] driver’s actions, started to follow him toward the bus. The bus driver tried to kick my client in the face, but he grabbed his leg and prevented him from striking his head. My client tried to delay the bus until the police arrived. The bus driver attempted to flee the scene while driving toward my client. Border police officers who heard my client calling out for help came to the site and delayed the bus driver until the police arrived.”
Attorney Bleicher demanded that the police arrest and charge the assailant. “The serious incident began with threats and quickly progressed to severe assault. The severity of the incident is of particular concern because the assailant is a public bus driver in whose hands are entrusted the lives of dozens of passengers every day. I demand a thorough investigation as soon as possible so that the assailant will be brought to trial for his violent acts,” he concluded.