TfL investigating alleged antisemitic incident from driver on London bus
A Jewish man was reportedly trapped on a London bus for more than an hour after the driver refused to give him back his bank card, which had fallen behind a partition
Transport for London have confirmed they are investigating a case where a Jewish man was trapped on a London bus by the driver, who allegedly made antisemitic comments and refused to give him back his bank card.
In a video shared widely on social media, the Jewish man, identified as David Abraham, pleads with the bus driver to return his card, which had dropped behind the driver’s partition when he had used to pay.
“My own card, I’m begging the driver to give me my bank card – he don’t want to give me. I don’t know what is going on”, David says in the video.
“The guy says he hates Jewish people – I didn’t do anything to him. I just touched my bank card, my bank card dropped there, he says he doesn’t want to give me my card, he doesn’t like Jewish people. What kind of driver is this?
“I begged him for 40 minutes, this driver is not going to give me my card.”
Elsewhere in the video, David, who is originally from Africa, says “it’s very sad. I’m very surprised to see a black man is hating another black man because I’m Jewish.”
The video was captioned: “British transport bus driver lock[s] me in the bus for more than one hour, he said to me he doesn’t like Jewish people and he says I look like a Mossad agent.”
The position of the card meant that while it was inaccessible to passengers, it should have been easy for the driver to retrieve, without opening his safety door to do so.
Multiple videos show the driver sitting stony-faced, refusing to engage, either with David and then subsequently with other members of the public who ask him to give David back his card. The driver refuses to respond to another individual who asks him if everyone else gets off the bus – including David – whether the driver will hand him the card instead.
It is understood that the bus route in question was the number 67, which goes through the heart of the Stamford Hill Jewish community. The driver is believed to have stopped the bus at the Dalston Junction station, at which point he changed the bus number from 67 to 149.
Speaking to Jewish News, David said the experience has left him anxious about using buses: “I’m scared now to go in the bus… I start to panic, like who is that driver? It affects me.”
He said he was particularly shocked that the abuse came from a Black driver: “I was shocked to see another Black man hate me because I’m Jewish. It hurt me deeply.”
David added that antisemitism has affected him from an early age: “Since I was young, people discriminate against me for being Jewish… it has followed me my whole life,” he said. “I didn’t choose to be Jewish – I was born like this.”
Andrew Gilbert, Vice President of the Board of Deputies, said: “We have asked TfL for a full account. That this bus driver was on a route that serviced the Haredi community in Stamford Hill is very concerning. We have asked TfL not just for a report on the specifics but on training of bus drivers who service routes in Jewish areas.”
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “This shocking incident will horrify Londoners. It is outrageous that anyone should be subjected to this kind of degrading treatment, let alone for being or simply just appearing to be Jewish.
“Allegedly trapping a passenger on a bus and subjecting him to antisemitic abuse is not merely disgraceful conduct; it is potentially criminal. We expect TfL and the Police to urgently investigate this matter thoroughly and take robust action.”
A TfL spokesperson said: “We are concerned to hear of these allegations and are supporting the bus operator, Arriva, who are investigating. We take a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of hate crime, and work with the police to pursue anyone who is abusive to our customers or staff. We encourage anyone who experienced or witnessed this incident to contact the police.”
Jewish News understands the driver has been identified and removed from public service while police and Arriva conduct disciplinary and criminal investigations.
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