Passengers left on the side of the road near Golani Junction; Free use
Thursday, July 30, 2026, 13:11 In October 2025, an Arabic-speaking bus driver called the police regarding a passenger who was smoking on the bus. Two Arabic-speaking officers arrived. Although it was the middle of the night, the officers ordered all of the mostly Haredi passengers off the bus near Golani Junction and instructed the driver to leave. Despite the passengers’ pleas not to abandon them, the officers drove away, leaving the group by the side of the road. The passengers had no choice but to continue on their own. Some hitchhiked, despite the danger. Fortunately, a bus driver who happened to be passing by drove the remaining passengers to their destination. Honenu Attorney Chaim Bleicher has now filed an NIS 130,000 lawsuit against the Israel Police and the two officers on behalf of the passengers. (See video below.)
In the statement of claim, Attorney Bleicher described the incident: “On the night of October 19-20, 2025, several dozen passengers were traveling from Modi’in Illit on Superbus line 859 toward Tiberias. The vast majority of them were Haredi in dress and appearance. Near Golani Junction, in the middle of the night, at around 1:00 a.m., one passenger smoked an electronic cigarette. The driver shouted at the passenger to stop smoking. Immediately afterward, he stopped the bus at the Golani Junction bus stop and called the police. He got off to wait for the police, and some of the passengers also stepped outside.
“The officers arrived by police car at about 1:30 a.m., and spoke with the driver in Arabic. Afterward, Defendant 2, who was the driver of the police car and the more dominant of the two officers, ordered all the passengers off the bus. The plaintiffs and other passengers explained to the officers that they had nothing to do with the person who had been smoking the electronic cigarette, and that they wished to continue the journey to their destination. The officers ignored their claims and again ordered the plaintiffs and the rest of the passengers to take their belongings and get off the bus.
“During the incident, Plaintiff 1 approached Defendant 2 and asked, ‘Are you normal?’ regarding his actions toward him. In response, Defendant 2 forcibly pulled him toward the police car and threatened to arrest him for ‘insulting a public servant,’ relenting only after Plaintiff 1 apologized. Defendant 2 then ordered the driver of the now-empty bus to continue on his way. Defendant 2 was heard wishing the driver a ‘safe trip,’ as the defendants left the plaintiffs and the rest of the passengers at the bus stop. The defendants drove away despite the plaintiffs’ protests and questions about what they were supposed to do now that they had been ordered off the bus. At that point, the plaintiffs and the other passengers were left stunned and abandoned by the roadside in the middle of the night. The passengers dispersed. Having no other choice, some of them hitchhiked despite the risk involved. Others remained at the stop until a passing bus driver picked them up.”
Attorney Bleicher stated: “Innocent passengers who simply wanted to reach their destination and had not resorted to any violence found themselves abandoned by the side of the road in the middle of the night. We will take all legal actions necessary in both criminal and civil proceedings until everyone responsible for this serious incident is penalized to the full extent of the law.”