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   Hundreds of members of Detroit's Jewish community flew to Washington,   
   D.C., to march in solidarity with Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza   
   on Tuesday, but some of them say they had trouble participating because of   
   what they said was a "malicious walk-off" by some bus drivers.   
      
   Local members of the Jewish Federation of Detroit and the Jewish Community   
   Relations Council went to the country's capital to focus the national   
   conversation on freeing the estimated 240 hostages Hamas took from Israel   
   on Oct. 7, said David Kurzmann, senior director of community affairs at   
   the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.   
      
   But some buses hired to transport "a significant number" of the groups'   
   participants from Dulles International Airport to the site of the march,   
   according to Kurzmann, failed to appear, which delayed and in some cases   
   prevented their arrival at the event.   
      
   "We have learned from the bus company that this was caused by a deliberate   
   and malicious walk-off of drivers. Fortunately, many were able to travel   
   to the march, and we are grateful to the drivers of those buses that   
   arrived," Kurzmann said in a Tuesday statement.   
      
   "While we are deeply dismayed by this disgraceful action, our resolve 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 Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit declined to identify the   
   name of the bus company or companies who it says refused them service.   
      
   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 late Monday told his group "they were having trouble"   
   after some drivers called in sick.   
      
   "They informed us ... that they had drivers, who, when they were aware of   
   the assignment today, called in, more than a few, a number of drivers   
   called in sick," Kurzmann said. The bus company "committed to fulfilling   
   the obligations for our group and we had all expectation that they would   
   they demonstrated a desire and full intention to do, and today they seemed   
   to encounter some challenge."   
      
   Kurzmann did not provide the number of buses the group ordered, but said   
   out of 900 travelers, about a third were affected. He said he did not have   
   the name of the bus company.   
      
   Ella Cohen, a 19-year-old from Birmingham, said she was one of the   
   fortunate ones who was able to make it to the march.   
      
   "Some of the other groups were duped by the bus companies," Cohen said.   
      
   "We had to pack a lot of people on some of the buses," she added. "Some   
   people had to sit on each other's laps and stand in the aisle. 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."   
      
   Tens of thousands of Israel supporters rallied on the National Mall under   
   heavy security Tuesday, voicing solidarity against Hamas and crying “never   
   again." Politicians in attendance included Democratic Senate Majority   
   Leader Chuck Schumer, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, House   
   Democratic leader Hakeem Jefferies and Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa.   
      
   State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, traveled to Washington on one of the   
   chartered planes that he said arrived at Dulles airport around 10:30 a.m.   
   Tuesday. He told The News his group waited three hours to deplane before   
   loading onto a bus and sat there for about 30 minutes before unloading and   
   getting back on the airplane.   
      
   The group ended up sitting on the plane all afternoon and never made it to   
   the rally, Moss said.   
      
   Moss said he and hundreds of other Metro Detroit Jews were denied an   
   opportunity to be part of a “tremendous display of support … for the   
   hostages and a strong rebuke of antisemitism.”   
      
   “I’m still awaiting all of the details of why the bus drivers didn’t show   
   up,” Moss said late Tuesday afternoon in a text message.   
      
   “I’ve spent my tenure in the Legislature fighting discrimination when   
   seeking goods or services that are denied based on identity or   
   affiliation,” added Moss, who is openly gay. “There are a lot of questions   
   and we deserve to know the answers.”   
      
   Rabbi Mike Moskowitz from Temple Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield attended   
   the march, which he said attracted nearly 1,000 people from Metro Detroit   
   on three chartered flights. But the marchers ran into problems with some   
   of the buses waiting for them on the tarmac, he said.   
      
   "What I have heard is that some bus drivers taking passengers from another   
   plane loaded people on their buses, and then the driver walked off the   
   buses and refused to drive them to the march," said Moskowitz, who made it   
   to the march.   
      
   The march happened during the sixth week of the war, which was triggered   
   by Hamas' surprise attack into Israel, in which militants killed hundreds   
   of civilians and dragged hostages back to Gaza. The resulting Israeli   
   counterattack has killed thousands of Palestinian fighters and civilians.   
      
   "How could I not be in D.C. today?" Kurzmann said. “This is our   
   opportunity as the Jewish community," along with others, "to really show   
   our support for Israel.”   
      
   Palestinian Americans have held rallies in Washington and Michigan calling   
   for a ceasefire in the fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu   
   has said there will be no ceasefire without the return of all the   
   hostages. Instead, beginning last Thursday, Israel agreed to daily, four-   
   hour humanitarian pauses in the fighting in northern Gaza, according to   
   the White House.   
      
   Other protests about the war and occupation detract the focus from the   
   civilian deaths and the hostages Israel holds Hamas responsible for,   
   Kurzmann said.   
      
   "We feel terrible for every single baby that is suffering and killed, and   
   it’s a horrible war against Hamas," he said. "The blame is squarely on   
   Hamas.”   
      
   Politics Editor Chad Livengood contributed.   
      
   hmackay@detroitnews.com   
      
   amunoz@detroitnews.com   
      
   jaimery@detroitnews.com   
      
   https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/11/14/hundreds-   
   of-metro-detroit-jews-stranded-at-d-c-airport-by-absent-bus-   
   drivers/71582002007/   
      
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