In the past I've written about the ongoing situation in which the buses from the Petach Tikva, Tzomet Yarkon Junction area going to Ariel are overloaded with Arabs to the extent in which they skip bus stops leaving Jewish passengers stranded. I wrote about it here, here and here.
Yesterday afternoon I was there again in the afternoon and needed a bus to Ariel. One bus passed without stopping, but soon afterwards another one came. I was able to board the bus and had to walk until close to the back of the bus until I found a seat next to a female IDF soldier just across from the rear door.
I relaxed, used the cellphone Siddur app to pray the Mincha afternoon prayer and then didn't pay much attention to what was happening on the bus. I heard someone ask the driver to open the rear-door, and then a bit later I someone pressing on my right shoulder and arm.
The bus had somehow filled with Arabs. There must have been at least thirty 30 men crowded into the narrow aisle, so those of us sitting in aisle seats kept getting pushed and shoved. I found myself crowding into the space of the young woman sitting next to me, while simultaneously pushing the Arabs off of me. I apologized to the woman by mentioning that the driver isn't allowed by law to fill the aisle. She replied that an Inspector just boarded.
The Inspector asked to see our tickets, and I could hear and see him confirm that many of those Arabs did not have tickets. Apparently when I was busy with my eyes on my screen Arabs had boarded via the rear door without paying. When he got to me, I mentioned the unbearable crowding, and he replied that by law it is forbidden to have more than I can't remember if he said eight or ten people standing in the aisle. BTW the bus driver was an Arab, too.
I don't know what the procedure is in other places, but here in Israel, if an Inspector discovers that a passenger hasn't paid, the driver is fined. When the inspector got off, I could hear (and not understand) very loud talking in Arabic. That is very rare. Generally the Arabs are extremely quiet on the Israeli buses.
Thank Gd they are starting to send Inspectors on the buses. Never dull...
Yesterday afternoon I was there again in the afternoon and needed a bus to Ariel. One bus passed without stopping, but soon afterwards another one came. I was able to board the bus and had to walk until close to the back of the bus until I found a seat next to a female IDF soldier just across from the rear door.
I relaxed, used the cellphone Siddur app to pray the Mincha afternoon prayer and then didn't pay much attention to what was happening on the bus. I heard someone ask the driver to open the rear-door, and then a bit later I someone pressing on my right shoulder and arm.
The bus had somehow filled with Arabs. There must have been at least thirty 30 men crowded into the narrow aisle, so those of us sitting in aisle seats kept getting pushed and shoved. I found myself crowding into the space of the young woman sitting next to me, while simultaneously pushing the Arabs off of me. I apologized to the woman by mentioning that the driver isn't allowed by law to fill the aisle. She replied that an Inspector just boarded.
The Inspector asked to see our tickets, and I could hear and see him confirm that many of those Arabs did not have tickets. Apparently when I was busy with my eyes on my screen Arabs had boarded via the rear door without paying. When he got to me, I mentioned the unbearable crowding, and he replied that by law it is forbidden to have more than I can't remember if he said eight or ten people standing in the aisle. BTW the bus driver was an Arab, too.
I don't know what the procedure is in other places, but here in Israel, if an Inspector discovers that a passenger hasn't paid, the driver is fined. When the inspector got off, I could hear (and not understand) very loud talking in Arabic. That is very rare. Generally the Arabs are extremely quiet on the Israeli buses.
Thank Gd they are starting to send Inspectors on the buses. Never dull...
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| While waiting for a bus at the Yarkon Junction, I spotted this plane coming from the nearby Ben Gurion International Airport |