An IDF reservist who was travelling to his base on Memorial Day was removed from a public bus in Jerusalem after he was told that the line was intended for female haredi students only.
Due to the incident, the bus company, Egged, signed a settlement in which it will compensate the reservist 30,000 NIS and will reinforce its guidelines to prevent gender discrimination.
The soldier, identified as A., told Channel 12 that he waited at the bus stop dressed in an IDF uniform on his way to reserve duty. He said that when he tried to board the 845 bus line, the driver signaled to him with his hands not to board. "I felt like a second-class citizen in my own country," he cried. "I stood in uniform at a bus stop, and when I tried to get on, I saw the driver motioning an X with his arms, as if he was telling me not to get on."
The soldier still boarded the bus through the rear doors and found the bus to be full of haredi girls, who he says demanded that he leave, claiming that it was a private school bus. He claimed that the driver also motioned to him to disembark. A., seeking to prevent similar incidents, decided to contact the Ministry of Transportation, Egged, and the Reform Movement's Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the latter providing him legal representation.
The process ended with a settlement that was signed last week. As part of the settlement, Egged committed to compensating the reservist 30,000 shekels and to work to increase awareness among its employees of the importance of respectful treatment of passengers and the prevention of gender discrimination
The incident is not the first of its kind reported in recent months. Approximately nine months ago, it was reported that Saar Koren had also been forced off an Egged public bus in Haifa after the driver claimed that the route was intended exclusively for haredi female students.
Koren was also represented by the IRAC, and at the conclusion of the legal proceedings, Egged was ordered to pay him 40,000 NIS in compensation for unlawful discrimination based on sex.
Egged responded: "This is a serious incident that does not reflect the company's values or procedures. Egged's bus routes are open to the entire public, without discrimination. As soon as the incident came to our attention, it was thoroughly investigated, and the procedures were reiterated to all drivers. Egged regrets the incident."