#0202_A_View_From_West_Jerusalem

"Since 4:00 pm [Tuesday, April 3], dozens of Haredis are blocking Bar Ilan road. During the demonstrations, one of the Egged bus drivers passing through the area got off the bus carrying an M-16 rifle. The protests were held following the arrest of the Jerusalemite parents suspected of murdering their son in a hotel in Ashdod. Eyewitnesses say that the demonstrators broke the bus’s windshield wipers, which is why the driver reacted as he did. In the video, the driver is called a ‘murderer’ by one of the protesters, and one of them was even documented kicking him from behind. After that, a policeman tried to calm the driver and asked him to return to the bus.

Egged Transportation in response: ‘The driver lives beyond the Green Line; he is part of his village’s emergency squad and is a police volunteer. For those reasons, he carries a weapon 24 hours a day. After the bus he was driving was attacked by a riotous crowd, he got off the bus to check the damages done and acted as every weapon-carrier acts: he didn’t leave his weapon unsupervised. From the initial questioning of the driver and based on the documentation we have seen, [that shows] that the weapon wasn’t directed at anyone, and wasn’t used unlawfully, it seems that there was nothing wrong with the driver’s conduct.’"

– myNet Jerusalem

[Selected Comments:]
– "You’re not allowed to leave your weapon unsupervised, so all he did was get off the bus with it. There was nothing wrong with his behavior. He didn’t point the weapon at anyone, so this isn’t a case of misuse of a weapon. The fact that this has to do with Haredis doesn’t mean that you have to make a big deal of it."
– "I don’t know what’s worse: The driver’s reaction, or the comments of the scum here. I would like to see what the headlines would be if someone would have approached an Ethiopians’/Russians’/Disabled/Seculars’ protest with an M-16, and what kind of comments it would get.
This protest was actually pretty quiet, and the driver could have done what the rest of the drivers did: stay in his bus and let the police do its job. But he’s a big hero since he was dealing with a religious crowd, so he got off carrying an M-16… ”
– "They demonstrate every day, each time for a different reason. And each time, they immediately block roads. Everything belongs to them. It’s hard living in this city when you get stuck in buses for hours."

#Demonstrations #Haredi

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