BusWatch - Oranit Terminal, Thur. 06.12.12 afternoon
Translator: Charles K.
Bus Watch – from the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station to the Oranit Terminal, and back again.
On Bus No. 286 from the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station to Ariel, via Barkan (Our members who were observing at the Central Bus Station saw that the bus which enters Barkan has a “1” following the number). Everyone who looks to the driver like a Palestinian is told that the bus enters Barkan. Most of the Palestinians got off immediately. It transpired (according to the driver) that the security at the entrance doesn’t allow Palestinians to enter the locality, so they must get off the bus. They can’t get back on because it exits the locality in a different location. Gabi Lassky, the attorney, said that by law a security guard can prevent a Palestinian from entering any locality.
We didn’t see many Palestinians on the bus anyway, and those who were may have had Israeli IDs or headed for a destination near Barkan. A Palestinian from Beersheba with an Israeli ID sat next to me and gave Rivka a sweet snack she’d made for the trip after overhearing her say she hadn’t eaten since the morning.
The bus was almost empty when it left the Central Bus Station, but had filled up by the time it reached the Oranit terminal; some of the passengers stood. The driver said that the most crowded time is from 16:30 to 18:30.
16:45 – 17:15 Oranit terminal. No police, nor were Palestinians made to get off the bus. The reports about the incidents may have had an effect!!
From a conversation with the driver on the return trip to the Central Bus Station:
1. He doesn’t take Palestinians. He says he doesn’t allow them to board. (We told him that’s illegal; he said he doesn’t think so; we replied that whether or not it’s legal isn’t a matter of opinion.)
2. The general manager of “Afikim,” the company running the bus routes to Ariel, has instructed drivers to make their own decisions – take Palestinians if they want to; don’t take them if they’re afraid to do so.
3. At the Oranit terminal the police make Palestinians get off the bus. Here’s how it works:
“The police make all the passengers get off and checks to see who has an entry permit to Israel. Those who do may continue. Those who don’t are detained by the police. But I can’t wait all day, so I drive on.”
“Empty?”
“No. The police only take the Arabs.”
“So what do those with permits do?”
“What do I care?”
At this point a young woman who lives in Ariel interjects in a supercilious tone: “They should be grateful they’re given jobs in Israel; they can walk…”
(There’s no chance of getting a taxi before A-Zawiyya, a distance of about 10 kilometers, since there are no Palestinian vehicles on Highway 5 which is an apartheid road all along its length.)
The driver says passengers are removed from the bus to see who has a permit to be in Israel and who doesn’t, but the effect of this excuse is to impact everyone.
We had a good talk with the bus driver. He said he’d been at Qalandiya at the time of the lynch in 2000. Since then he’s feared Arabs and refuses to take them so they won’t blow themselves up on the bus. He said that a number of times settlers violently prevented him from taking on passengers, physically blocking the doors. He had no desire to confront them; they were pretty scary.
The driver said that as of January 1, 2013, there will be separate buses, which he’s pleased about.
We explained to him why the refusal to take on certain passengers constitutes racism (“I’m not racist; a few days ago I transported 15 Eritreans on my bus”). It was a good conversation (Rivka’s arguments were very convincing). I hope we were able to break through the barrier of hatred and fear…
Our conclusion – we should keep track of what’s going on. I asked Sami and my friend ‘Abed to let me know if they hear of additional incidents in which people are taken off a bus or not permitted to get on. By the way, ‘Abed told me that all along the route, on Jabotinsky Street in Ramat Gan, for example, there were many cases in which drivers refused to allow Palestinians to board, not only at the Central Bus Station.
I think that for the next week or two the drivers and police will refrain from racist behavior because of the publicity, but we should soon observe at the Central Bus Station (especially on Thursdays) as well as on the Tel Aviv – Ariel route (up to the Oranit terminal is far enough).