45 Israeli-Arab families from the Galilee submitted a request to the National Insurance Institute on Monday asking to be recognized as victims of terrorism.  The families were all involved in a bus crash in the Sinai Peninsula last year in which 11 were killed and dozens were wounded.  They say that their bus driver deliberately crashed because they were Israeli.

The families said that as the driver took them towards Israel he began harshly criticizing them for being Israeli citizens and cooperating with Jews.  The driver called them “Jews’ trash,” they said, and warned that the ride would be their final journey. 

Many of the crash victims have argued for months that the crash was a planned act of terrorism.  They are now taking legal action in order to receive NII compensation for their injuries.