Arab bus driver severely beaten by passengers in ultra-Orthodox neighborhood

Khaled Asiwat, an Arab bus driver who lives and works in the Jerusalem area, was severely beaten on Sunday by a group of passengers who demanded that he violate company protocol by stopping the bus between designated stops and allowing them to get off.

The attack occurred in Beit Shemesh, a predominantly ultra-Orthodox (haredi) city near Jerusalem, and the assailants were reportedly mostly young haredi men.

Asiwat (48) spoke with Kan Radio on Sunday from his hospital bed, where he was recovering from injuries sustained in the assault.

“Some guys wanted me to stop when we weren’t at a station – I didn’t agree, because it’s against the law,” he said. “So he started beating me. I tried to call the police. I tried to call somebody who could come protect me. I was taking blows everywhere.”

He said the bus was full of passengers and that, before losing consciousness, he heard his attacker call out to two or three other men who were with him: “Come, come, come here!”

The assault was the latest in a series of incidents in which public transportation workers have been physically attacked while on the job. The Koach LaOvdim labor union warned that stronger measures are needed to protect transit workers.

“If we don’t act, the attacks on public transport workers won’t stop until a driver or fare inspector pays with his life,” the group said in a statement.

According to Koach LaOvdim, 100 public transit workers required medical treatment in 2025 for injuries sustained while working. The group also said the number of attacks on bus drivers nationwide increased by 30% compared to 2024.

The organization has long called for reforms to improve the safety of public transportation workers, including installing complete physical barriers between drivers and passengers and legally defining transit workers as public servants, a designation that would carry significantly harsher penalties for those who intentionally assault them.