Hundreds of Jewish people who traveled from Detroit to Washington D.C. to march in the massive rally for solidarity with Israel were left stranded on the tarmac at Dulles International Airport when buses that were to transport them did not show up after their drivers participated in a "malicious walk-off" rather than drive them to the National Mall.
"We have learned from the bus company that this was caused by a deliberate and malicious walk-off of drivers," David Kurzmann, senior director of community affairs at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit said in a statement, reports The Detroit News. "Fortunately, many were able to travel to the march, and we are grateful to the drivers of those buses that arrived."
Kurzmann added that the organization is "deeply dismayed by this disgraceful action," but said that the resolve of Detroit's Jewish community "to proudly stand in solidarity with the people of Israel, to condemn antisemitism and to demand the return of every hostage held by Hamas has never been greater."
The federation did not disclose the name of the bus company or companies that refused the contingent service. About a third of the 900 travelers making the trip to the rally were affected by the bus drivers' walk-off, but many were able to crowd onto other buses that arrived to drive the group to the rally.
Kurzmann said late Tuesday in a virtual press conference the bus company was in contact with their team while travelers were stuck on the tarmac after arriving at the airport around 11 a.m.
He said the company told his group late Monday they were "having trouble" after "more than a few, a number of drivers" had called in sick "when they were aware of the assignment today."
However, he said the bus company had committed to fulfilling the obligations for the group, but "today they seemed to encounter some challenge."
Ella Cohen, 19, from Birmingham, Michigan, said she was fortunate and able to make it to the march, but noted that the buses driving the group to the event were packed.
"Some people had to sit on each other's laps and stand in the aisle," she said. "It was very hectic. I know that some bus companies were able to step in last minute and help us out, and some people also ordered Ubers to the march."
Michigan State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, who traveled to Washington on one of the chartered planes for the rally, said his group had to wait for three hours to get off the plane and onto a bus, where they sat for about a half-hour They then sat on the plane for the rest of the afternoon, never making it to the rally, he said.
The issue with the drivers, Moss said, meant that he and hundreds of Metro Detroit Jews were denied the chance to be part of the "tremendous display of support … for the hostages and a strong rebuke of antisemitism," and he is still waiting for information about what happened.
"I’ve spent my tenure in the Legislature fighting discrimination when seeking goods or services that are denied based on identity or affiliation," Moss, who is openly gay, told The News. "There are a lot of questions and we deserve to know the answers.”
Rabbi Mike Moskowitz from Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield, Michigan, said he was able to get to the march, but said he heard that some bus drivers loaded people onto the buses "and then the driver walked off the buses and refused to drive them to the march."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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