Driver reproduces: called me "Dati" and punched

Chezi Werdyger, 37 year old resident of Bnei Brak, has been driving at Egged for more than a decade. Last night he was attacked by an Arab youth at the Megiddo junction. Werdyger is sure that this attack was for nationalistic reasons.

"At 23:15 I was standing with bus 840 on Platform 2 at the central bus station of Afula, two young Arab men in their 20s asked me if I reach Umm al-Fahm, and I said I come close to the area. They went and sat on the back seat," says Werdyger in a conversation with Behadrey Haredim.

The Arabs began to speak in Arabic between them and something seemed a little fishy to him. "The younger man said, 'Halas, halas' (enough, enough) and it seemed they were not satisfied with something. Throughout the drive I did not remove my eyes from the mirror to make sure they do not try to attack me."

Werdyger goes on to tell Behadrey Haredim: "I came to the Megiddo junction after about 20 minutes of driving, the younger one went down and the adult began to go down, and all the while I didn't take my eyes off – for fear of them hitting me. Once I saw that there was no object in his hands with which he could hurt me, I took my look down for a moment, and he punched me hard in the face."

The two fled immediately to the fields, and two passengers - a soldier and a civilian - tried to run after them, but it was already too late.

Hezi is sure that the attack was for nationalistic reasons, "a second before he attacked me, he called me 'religious' and punched me with all his body weight landing on me." Hezi was mildly injured in the face, and passengers immediately called the police.

According to the police report this morning, it was most likely an attack for financial reasons, "The suspects got off at Megiddo because they did not have enough money for the trip to Umm al-Fahm," the Coast police said this morning. However, according to the driver, this is a minor detail and has nothing to do with the attack.

After the attack, he was taken by MDA ambulance to Ichilov Hospital, after being hit in the face. "My nose moved, and the doctors returned it to its place. Beyond that, I am bruised and have pain in the face. "

Coast Province Police say the main goal now is to locate the suspects, and only after that they will be able to find out the circumstances of the attack.

Werdyger is also known as a ZAKA and Ichud Hatzala volunteer, a reservist and police volunteer.

Werdyger after the attack

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!