NYC bus driver allegedly held students captive on way to school and claimed Jews killed Jesus in antisemitic rant
A school bus driver at a Brooklyn charter school pulled off the road and held the children 'captive' while he went on an antisemitic rant, in which made one Jewish kid cry with a lecture that claimed the Jews killed Jesus, sources said.
The driver allegedly pulled over as he headed to the Brooklyn Prospect International Elementary Charter School and launched the impromptu diatribe about his religious beliefs and Jesus to a group of students, a few whom are Jewish, one parent said.
'The only one who can deliver you isn't religion, it's Jesus,' the bus driver, who has since been suspended, allegedly said to confused youngsters, according to the parent.
When one student asked the unidentified driver if Jesus was a Jew, the driver allegedly offered a centuries-old canard about Jewish people's role in Jesus' crucifixion that is widely condemned as antiemetic.
'Yes, he was a Jew and basically Jews — his own kind — killed him,' the driver told students, the parent claimed.
'They basically killed him because he said he was the son of God … These were religious leaders who killed him.'
The assertion that Jews killed Jesus has long been shot down by the Catholic Church.
In the Vatican's 'Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions,' it stated the crucifixion of Jesus 'cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today,' the Anti-Defamation League noted.
Some students texted their parents about the remarks in real-time and one Jewish student even broke down in tears, the parent said.
At one point, the driver also allegedly asked students to recite a prayer while handing out white 'I Am With You Always' hats with a black cross inscribed between the words, the parent said.
'What pissed me off is the kids were late to school,' one parent told The Post. 'The driver definitely held the kids captive.'
Students arrived about 30 minutes later than they were supposed to.
The school confirmed in a note to parents Friday that the driver 'stopped the bus for a period of time to make religious remarks and distribute religious merchandise to students,' though it did not confirm the specific of the off the rails sermon.
The school administration also said it contacted the driver's employer, Jofaz Transportation in Brooklyn, to 'file a formal complaint and request a new driver.'
The driver also allegedly told the students that Jesus sacrificed for their sins and 'If we believe in him, we will be saved' and 'The only one who can free you all is Jesus Christ,' the parent said.
He allegedly delved into the existence of heaven and hell while criticizing atheists for embracing the Big Bang theory.
'Well, who created the 'Big Bang,' the driver allegedly said, according to student accounts.
'They ain't going to be able to answer you. They're going to get stuck.'
While the bus driver was taking students to a charter school — which is privately run but publicly funded — transportation companies are hired by the New York City Department of Education.
DOE officials confirmed Jofaz Transportation has a contract with the city, but pending the outcome of an investigation by the bus company, the driver won't transport Big Apple students.
Jofaz Transportation could not be reached for comment.
Parents were outraged the driver as an authority figure took advantage of the students.
'The Jewish parents were most upset for sure,' the parent added.
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