What does the man in a kippah say to the bus driver? 'Dirty Arab'


December 31, 2014
Sarah Benton
Tags: ,


Egged bus; in effect, it serves only Jews and on the lines serving haredi areas, women have to sit at the back.

Jerusalem’s Arab bus drivers speak out

Jerusalem has seemingly calmed down after several weeks of unrest, but Arab bus drivers tell Al-Monitor that they are constantly subjected to insults and attacks by extremist Jewish passengers.

By Shlomi Eldar, Al Monitor / Israel Pulse
December 30, 2014

The series of terrorist attacks and violent clashes in Jerusalem in recent months, variously labeled as “The Al-Aqsa Intifada” and “The Jerusalem Intifada,” among other things, has fortunately abated without igniting an all-out confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians. In retrospect, the meeting among Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State John Kerry and King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman on Nov. 13 seems to have been the turning point, following which the level of tension decreased.

The effort to calm the situation made by Israel and the Palestinian Authority have borne fruit, and the situation in Jerusalem is under control. But the fragile routine of life in the city has not been fully restored, and any event is liable to rekindle the flames. Numerous police and border patrol forces are deployed in the streets to serve as a buffer between Jews and Arabs, especially in the Old City of Jerusalem and the holy places. Anyone walking through the alleys of the Old City, en route to the Western Wall or the Al-Aqsa Mosque, would notice the hundreds of soldiers and policemen whose job is simply to prevent provocation or even contact between Jews and Arabs.

The tension still felt in the city has been notably reflected in the moves taken by the Arab bus drivers from East Jerusalem, who left their jobs at Egged [Israel Transport Cooperative Society Ltd.] after Palestinian bus driver Yousef Hassan Ramouni had been found dead [Nov. 17], his body hanging at an Egged parking lot in the city. His controversial death — in Israel, it was claimed that he had committed suicide, while the Palestinians alleged that he was the victim of a hate crime — exposed a complex set of threats, attacks and humiliation on the part of Jewish passengers experienced by the Arab drivers over a long period. About 20% of the city’s Arab bus drivers quit their jobs, or just have not shown up for work since, in protest of the violence against them. In the last two weeks, some of them resumed their jobs as bus drivers, only to discover that the phenomenon has not disappeared.

In an interview to Al-Monitor, three Arab bus drivers who spoke on condition of anonymity, A., N. and D., described the harsh atmosphere, the attacks and humiliations that have become a matter of routine. These events testify, more than anything else, to the sizzling hatred between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem. Two of the drivers have already returned to work, while one of the three would rather stay home and wait for developments that would allow him to safely go back to work and earn a livelihood.

“I decided to go back to work, because I have no other way to support my family,” said A., one of the drivers. “I have seven children; all of them are going to school. The elder boy told me, ‘Dad, we can get along, as long as you stay alive.’”

The interview follows:

Al-Monitor: Have you ever been in fear for your life?

A.: Sometimes. But mostly, I was afraid that I would lose control. A Jewish passenger wearing a skullcap gets on the bus, and spits in my face. He then smirks and tells me: “You dirty Arab; you terrorist! Go and find work in Gaza.”

Al-Monitor: How many such attacks have you experienced?

A.: More than three. But curses such as “You dirty Arab” are an almost daily routine.

Al-Monitor: Have other passengers protested against this behaviour?

A.: Yes, quite a lot. But no one wants to fight with them. Usually, they just say, “Leave him alone; he is only the driver.”

Al-Monitor: How do you respond?

A: I wipe off the spit from my face, and keep driving. What else can I do? If I argue or come back at my attacker, it’ll be even worse — for me and for everyone.

Al-Monitor: N., you still have not returned to work. How do you feel about the recent events?

N: I’m not sure if I’ll go back to work. I’ve had enough of this. I’ve seen enough of it. A friend of mine was attacked by three children who threatened to hit him on the head with an iron club. It was a miracle that there were soldiers on the bus who stopped the attackers. He, too, quit his job, and he is still afraid to go back to work.

Al-Monitor: The terrorist attacks in the city have stopped. Do you see any improvement in the atmosphere?

N: I believe that nothing has changed. True, they did call me from Egged and told me that there were no longer any such things, that the company was not closing its eyes to any case [of violence], that any such case should be reported, and that the company would duly file a complaint with the police.

A: I for one think that the attacks have declined in number. Yet, to say that there are no longer any such events, that it’s all over and done with — it’s simply not true.

Al-Monitor: Are you experiencing any pressures on the part of your own social environment, as well?

D: Well, I cannot say that I have ever been called a “traitor.” They have never explicitly accused me of being an “amil” (in Arabic, a collaborator with the Israelis). But still, it isn’t at all pleasant to see army and police forces surrounding your neighborhood, shooting, and hurling stink bombs, Jews burning a child alive, and, at the same time, to continue working with the Jews as if everything is just fine. No. it’s certainly not right. However, I have never been told that I had to stop working. I myself felt that I just could not go on like that.

Al-Monitor: Is the Palestinian Authority involved in any way in the matter?

D: There was one big mess, but I would rather not say anything more.

Al-Monitor: What sort of mess? Have you been pressured?

D: I cannot say. Let’s skip it. It’s just fine now.

Al-Monitor: How have the Jewish drivers reacted?

A: Jewish friends of mine called to express their sympathy. They said that they realized what we were going through, and that the police and Egged must protect us.

Al-Monitor: And have they done so?

A: I believe that they have done in Egged whatever they could do, but I cannot say the same about the Police.

Al-Monitor: Can you estimate how many [Arab] bus drivers have already gone back to work?

A: Quite a few are back behind the wheel, but many others are still afraid to return to work.

Al-Monitor: Are you yourself afraid?

A: Well, what can I say? I’ve got used to it.

Egged spokesman Ron Ratner’s comment in response: We are showing a lot of empathy, sensitivity and support for those drivers who are harassed, and we wrap them with all our love, as Egged believes in and advocates [Jewish-Arab] coexistence. We condemn any violence, and we expect the Israeli police to uproot the phenomenon. Egged has decided to install [CCTV] cameras on its buses, especially on the buses running along the seam zone, to monitor what’s happening inside the buses and thus deter [potential] attackers of bus drivers and provide those who feel exposed to violence with a sense of protection.


About Egged

By Who Profits?

Egged operates special bus lines and public transportation to almost all settlements, including remote outposts. The company owns a fleet of 45 armored buses, specifically designed and manufactured by Merkavim, which serves the settlements in the regional councils of Shomron, Gush Etzion, Mateh Binyaimn and Har Hebron.

In 2014 Egged purchased 152 buses that underwent European vehicle assessments [Euro 6 standard of emissions]. These new buses include the following manufacturers: 97 Mercedes OC500 intercity buses, 15 Man NG363 buses, and 40 Scania buses.

In July 2014, Egged launched six new lines commuting in and to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Two of the new lines are operating from the settlement of Neveh Daniel crossing the green line to Beit Shemesh and to the settlement of Kfar Etzion, while a third is running from Jerusalem to the settlement of Nokdim in Gush Etzion. In addition, Egged has launched two night lines, which are running from the settlements of Ofra and Kfar Etzion to and from Jerusalem. A final new line is running from Tel Aviv to and from Modi’in and passes through several Samaria settlements en route.

In addition to providing its services to settlements, Palestinian drivers have been protesting the unsecured working environment at Egged. In November 2014, twenty-seven Palestinian bus drivers quit their jobs and dozens more have gone on strike for fear of being attacked by Israeli settlers as tensions have increased in Jerusalem in recent months. This act came after driver Yusuf Hassan al-Ramouni was found hanged in an Egged bus in Jerusalem.


Buses in Jerusalem

From Wikipedia

The Egged and the Palestinian city bus networks are almost completely separated. There are only a handful of bus stops that both companies serve. Arab residents of Jerusalem do use Egged buses frequently, but Jewish residents rarely use the Arab buses, in part because while Arabs do regularly visit the Israeli centre of town, Jews do not frequently come to the Arab parts of the city.

© Copyright JFJFP 2024