Hundreds of pro-Israel protesters have been left stranded after bus drivers staged a walk-off, a major Jewish organization said on Tuesday. The large group of Jews who arrived from Detroit was looking forward to attending the rally in DC but was left stranded on the tarmac for almost 11 hours. They were forced to wait after bus drivers, who had organized a “mass sick-out” day, left them high and dry to prevent them from attending the pro-Israeli rally.
The organizers, who had planned the rally for months, had chartered three private planes from Detroit for 1200 people and had made arrangements for buses to transport them to the National Mall. But as the planes landed, they were informed that the drivers had called in sick, leaving only a handful of buses available to meet their obligations. The drivers, according to the federation spokesperson, had “had enough people to pick the rally people up,” leaving the majority of the Jewish community stranded.
The actions of the drivers broke the constitutional right to peaceful assembly that hundreds of Jews were left without. As they tried to determine what was happening, they were forced to remain on the tarmac for hours, frantically trying to find out why they had been prevented from attending the rally. “Our right to assembly is a constitutional right-and this was straight-up blocking that,” said Jonathan Kaufman, one of the protesters.
Jew-Hating Bus Drivers at Dulles leave 900 Jews Stranded on DC Tarmac for Hours – Refuse to Take Them to March for Israel at National Mall via @gatewaypundit https://t.co/BZmX5hb43z
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) November 15, 2023
The Jewish Federation of Detroit had chartered the flights and organizers had repeatedly refused to name the bus company. The passengers faced an 11-hour wait on the tarmac, and when shuttles finally appeared, a third of the passengers couldn’t get permission to jump aboard. This was largely due to the fact that the bus company was allegedly run by anti-semites who refused Jews to attend the rally.
David Kurzmann said, “it was an act targeting the Jewish community as far as their participation in this rally.” However, later that day, 300 passengers were stuck on the tarmac after three out of the six buses were not allowed to leave. Due to chartered departure protocols, attendants were forced to return to DC because there were still hundreds of protesters missing on the tarmac, before making the return journey.
#BREAKING: hundreds of Jewish Detroiters were prevented from attending today’s pro-Israel rally in DC when bus drivers staged a deliberate and malicious walkout.
Nearly 1,000 people flew from Detroit to DC on chartered flights and buses were hired to take them from Dulles Airport… pic.twitter.com/j3BVg0UrGw— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) November 15, 2023
Jewish passengers aboard the planes took to singing Am Yisrael Chai, a song that translates to The People of Israel Live, as they showed their disdain towards the bus company for the protest. The matter is bound to end up in court, as Brooke Goldstein, a human rights lawyer said, “Any company that so blatantly refuses to provide services to Jewish people engages in unlawful discrimination.”
The Detroit group used the speaker to keep the passengers informed, with Kurzman taking on the role of leader. However, when asked about the bus company, Jonnan refused to drop names and walked away. It was an unfortunate logistical mishap, he stated, and the people involved did everything they could. Jewish people nationwide rallied at DC to call for peace and the return of hostages taken by barbaric terrorists. They continue to show proof that other people’s freedom and liberties matter just as much, and one group after the other continues to make its presence felt.