Egged has fired an Arab bus driver after he told a member of the Ethiopian community “drink milk and you can be white like me”. The incident took place in Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus neighborhood, at the entrance to Hebrew University.
Egged officials were surprised, explaining drivers who themselves are members of minority communities, generally exhibit an added measure of respect and tolerance.
The target of the driver’s insulting remarks is a security guard on campus. Egged admits this was not the first incident in which drivers insulted members of the Ethiopian community at the Mt. Scopus campus, and it was compelled to make a compensatory payment in at least one case.
Egged added the driver did not deny the incident, but was dismissed, explaining the bus cooperative is unwilling to accept such behavior. Egged spokespersons add the company invests significant sums of money in workshops towards teaching drivers acceptable behavior and attitude on the job.
When seeking a comment from the victim, Hebrew U. officials’ report the young guard is no longer employed on campus, adding the decision was in no way connected to the Egged incident.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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3 Responses
Where’s the reverend Al Sharpton when you need him???
If every Egged bus drive who made a nasty comment was fired, they would lose half of their working force. Instead of of “investing significant sums of money in workshops towards teaching drivers acceptable behavior and attitude ON THE JOB(note: does not include outside the job)” they should implement a rule that three complaints about a bus driver within a certain period of time and you lose your pay check for that month.
Just an implementation of an old rule that “Money talks” or causes one not to.
“Egged officials were surprised, explaining drivers who themselves are members of minority communities, generally exhibit an added measure of respect and tolerance.”
I guess that doesn’t apply to Arabs.