At least three passengers on a Egged public bus in Jerusalem harassed
and assaulted a group of ten Arab sixth grade girls from a Jewish-Arab
school. One of the passengers called the girls “monkeys,” said the girls should be ashamed of
[pretending to be] human, told them they have no right to live, and
threatened to send people to kill them. She also hit one of the girls
and pulled her hair.
In Hate Crime, Arab Schoolgirls Assaulted On Jerusalem Bus
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
At least three passengers on a Egged public bus in Jerusalem harassed and assaulted a group of ten Arab sixth grade girls from a Jewish-Arab school, Ha’aretz reports.
The girls were on their way home from the Max Rayne Bilingual School Sunday when two passengers hurled racial slurs at the students and one of them spat out his chewing gum at them.
When those two passengers disembarked, a third passenger, a woman, called the girls “monkeys,” said the girls should be ashamed of [pretending to be] human, told them they have no right to live, and threatened to send people to kill them. She also hit one of the girls and pulled her hair, according to an account by the girl's father, who said that his daughter has grown accustomed to being verbally abused when passing through Jewish neighborhoods. But, her father said, this was the first time she was physically assaulted.
Only one passenger on the bus came to the children’s defense and asked the woman to stop harassing them, he said.
The bus driver allegedly refused to help the girls, and he stopped the bus to intervene only after the woman started hitting one of the girls and pulling her hair.
The driver asked the woman to get off the bus but she refused. At that point, the driver reportedly called police, who detained the woman for questioning when they arrived.
Police confirmed the general allegations Thursday and said they have already questioned the woman who is accused of hitting the girl. However, police are waiting for a formal complaint to be filed before going further.
Parents of the ten girls are planning to file a police complaint, according to a member of the parents committee at the school.
The bus was headed for the Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev.